Ender and Creeps vs the World
by JMSYoshi
Summary: Ender, a young enderman banished from his home in the End for having mysterious hydrokinetic (water controlling) powers, must survive on his own in the Overworld. The catch? He must also care for a young creeper named Creeparious, or Creeps for short, who lacks the ability to explode. Will the two survive, or will they fall to insane players, wicked mob hunters, and the like?
1. Prologue

It was a standard afternoon in the End. Ender and his mother were returning home from the small market in the center of the End City where they and Ender's father lived.

"Alright, so that's done," the enderwoman muttered under her breath, crossing off yet another item on her list. Ender curiously looked up at his mother, her beautiful green eyes more focused on the list of things for her to do than her son at the moment. "Hey mom, did you get chorus fruit?" the little enderman questioned, causing his mother to look up and immediately put a hand to her head. "Oh, shoot!" she exclaimed. "Thank you for reminding me. Looks like we're going to have to go back again."

The child groaned, already bored out of his mind, not to mention he wasn't a fan of large crowds. His mother gently took hold of his hand and they teleported to the town square.

As soon as the got there, Ender felt strange. He felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him, particularly fierce ones. Ender shuddered, his mother put a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the place where they needed to go. They were in peace for a while.

Suddenly someone teleported next to the two of them, then lunged straight for the enderwoman's face. Ender shrieked in terror and fell backwards, watching, terrified, as his mother struggled to hold her own against the stranger.

"Give me your… Damn money… Woman!" yelled a voice, which sounded very masculine. Ender's mother kicked the stranger in the stomach. Ender panicked and began to scream at the top of his lungs, hoping that someone nearby would come to help.

Some turned their heads to watch, but no one came to help.

At this time Ender was desperate to help his mother. He lept at the stranger, hoping to distract him. Whoever it was flipped out when Ender jumped on top of him, desperately clawing at his face in an attempt to save his mother, who was bruised up pretty badly. The stranger threw the child off of him, Ender landed on the endstone sidewalk roughly, the wind being knocked out of him as he landed.

His back ached, but he could still hear his mother struggling to flee the area. Still, no one came to help. Tears were threatening to spill. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't speak. He could hardly breath. He couldn't do anything to help her.

Ender almost felt… Angry...

Suddenly screams of terror echoed through the vast emptiness of the End, Ender bolted upright to take a look at what everyone was screaming at, and gasped at what they saw.

Water. A huge ball of the stuff, floating in front of him. Ender noticed that if his hand moved, the water ball did as well. Desperate to help his mother, he made sure the dangerous liquid wouldn't hit her, then controlled the stuff so that it hit the enderman who was trying to mug her.

The other enderman screamed in agony when the fluid hit his skin, the screams of other enderman followed as he attempted to dry himself off. Ender's eyes were wide, some of it splashed on him, but he felt no pain. It felt… Kind of nice, actually. Unlike what was happening with the other enderman, who was shrieking and practically foaming at the mouth, trying to get the hellish water off of him. He eventually dropped to the ground, most likely dead.

Ender was frozen in fear, his hand still outstretched toward the criminal who had tried to steal his mother's money. He was shaking, realizing what he had done. He felt his mother's arms wrap around him as she burst into a run. Ender wrapped his arms around her, his left hand coming to a rest partially on the chain of the necklace she always wore, a beautiful, golden piece of jewelry with a shiny purple and black pendant that Ender's grandfather had given her.

Suddenly the two of them ran into something hard and his mother fell backwards, holding her son close. Ender looked back, and then gasped in shock.

The Ender Dragon.

The creature who lead the entire Ender Race towered over the female enderman and her son. His voice was deep when he spoke.

"What is this that I hear about your son, Endara Teleportio?" the Ender Dragon snarled harshly, the other endermen in the area immediately sank to their knees, bowing to their leader. Ender's mother stood, Ender could feel her trembling as he clung to her, staring up at the Ender Dragon, and several purple-eyed guard endermen flanking him.

"I am hearing he is a Water Controller."

Their leader spat out the phrase with disgust. Ender shrank against his mother. His mother spoke calmly.

"I don't know what you speak of, Great Dragon," she replied. "I was slightly busy at the moment, preventing myself from certainly being killed."

The Dragon narrowed his eyes at her. "The man who assaulted you is now **dead.** He shows signs of water-induced damage. Witnesses say… That Ender there is the cause."

Ender's mother fell silent, not wanting to lie to their leader's face, most likely for fear of what would happen to her or her family if she did. Ender knew this. He felt the guilt of the situation weighing down on him.

"I-it w-was an a-acc-accident… I-I d-d-didn't m-mean t-to d-do th-that…" Ender stuttered softly, quivering with fright. Who knows what the Ender Dragon could do to him. He could have him executed, imprisoned, or even just rip the fragile child to pieces himself.

The Ender Dragon just stared at him, seemingly enjoying seeing the child quiver in fear.

"The child admits it himself? Interesting…" the Dragon pondered, thinking for a bit, than speaking again:

"Guards, Banish this hazard to the Overworld."

Ender froze, eyes wide. Ender's mother gripped the child harder in her arms. "What!? No! He'll certainly perish there! He is only five years old! You can't just take him from his family!"

The guards paid no attention to her, Ender struggled to remain with his mother, resorting to biting a guard's hand at one point so hard that it started to bleed. He gripped the necklace as a last resort, but the guards were strong. They pulled so hard the chain if the necklace broke, leaving Ender with nothing but his mother's necklace in his hand. The guard holding him slung the child over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, mother and son both screamed and struggled to reach each other, both being stopped by the stoic Ender Dragon and waves of equally emotionless endermen.

The guard carrying him teleported to the one portal to the Overworld. Another stood in place and activated the portal. Ender put up a fight, managing to slap the other guard across the face. The child only found himself roughly being handed over and dumped through the portal, into nothingness as he blacked out for the first, but not the last, time in his life.


	2. Prologue Part 2

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER: PROLOGUE PART TWO

Ender struggled to open his eyes. The sun was painfully bright that morning, it even shone through the opening of his crude little shelter that he had found, probably belonging to one of the mysterious players that had roamed the world. He felt stiff from having to sleep on the cold stone floor, he was covered in dirt and several bruises. The young enderman stood up, feeling his body ache from laying on the ground for so long. He reached out to touch the wall blindly, as his eyes were still adjusting to the bright morning sunlight. When his eyes adjusted, Ender slung a small cloth bag over his shoulder, stepped outdoors, and teleported.

He landed in the middle of a village. The resident villagers didn't even seem to acknowledge his existence.

Perfect.

He snuck past a few of them that were tending to their fields, harvesting more than enough food to feed the village for several weeks. He figured they wouldn't miss any. They hadn't so far.

Ender teleported into one of the nearby shops that they used to store the food, checked to see that no one was looking, and then stole enough food to fill the small bag he was carrying with him. The child quickly checked and double checked to make sure that everything looked exactly like it had before he had ransacked the place, then teleported back to his home.

Ender dug through the food he had gathered: a couple of carrots and potatoes, a few loaves of bread and some beets. Perfect, he thought. Just enough to last for a few days or so. I guess I'll go get some apples, too.

Ender dumped out the contents of his bag into a small, one-block-wide hole in the floor, then teleported to his apple tree.

As soon as he got to the gargantuan oak tree, Ender hoisted himself up the lowest branch and began the climb to search for apples. He had found maybe five or six of the ruby-red fruit, which he took and placed in his bag, when he registered the sound of sobbing coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like the cries of a small child.

Ender quickly scrambled down from the tree to investigate. He searched for about fifteen minutes before finding the source of the noise, and gasped at what he saw.

A young creeper, who couldn't have been more than two years old, sat under a nearby tree, crying. There was a sizable bruise on one side of his face. There was a scrape on the knee of one of his four little legs, and he was calling for his mother.

Ender felt a stab of empathy in his chest. He seemed to have been left there to starve to death.

Just like him.

Ender crept closer, only to step on a twig and scare the living daylights out of himself and the other child. The little creeper screamed and scooted back against the trunk of the tree, Ender flipped out, not wanting to make him more scared than he already was. "No, no, I'm here to help!" The enderman cried, and the creeper looked up at him. "Ennermin?" Asked the toddler in his bizarre childish dialect. Ender nodded. "Yeah. I'm lost too…" he said, trailing off. He was starting to remember what had happened before he had gotten to this strange place. Unfortunately, he had left his mother's necklace at his shelter, so he had nothing to stave off the panic attack that was coming. He felt the usual tightness in his chest, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I'm Ender," he stated instead of panicking. "What's your name?"

The little creeper struggled with this next question.

"Cee… Cwee… Cweepari… Creepareeis..." he stuttered.

Creeparious. Creeparious is his name. Kind of a mouthful though, Ender thought. He started thinking of a nickname, then said, "Can I call you Creeps instead?"

Creeparious, now known as Creeps, nodded shyly. "I come with you?" He asked curiously. Ender was just about to ask if he wanted to come with him. He definitely needed at least someone to take care of him, since he was left there like that. Ender would have to be that someone for now. "Sure. Why don't you actually come live with me?" Ender offered. Creeps's eyes lit up with excitement. "Like a seepover?!" He squealed. "Yeah. At least until your mom comes back," replied Ender, trying not to laugh at Creeps's weird pronunciation of sleepover. Creeps tried to stand up, but soon fell over backwards. Ender stifled a laugh and picked the little creeper up for the first time. He was kind of heavy, but Ender could manage. "You warm," yawned Creeps, it was obvious he was tired, and Ender smiled. The two started the journey back to Ender's shelter.


	3. Chapter 1

It was fairly early in the morning when Ender, who at the time was now ten years old, awoke. However, he didn't want to get out of bed, mainly because he was sharing it with Creeps, who was currently seven years old and snuggled up next to him, asleep. Surviving off of stolen items for this long was an achievement for both of them. Their shelter that was dug into a hill was now bigger, Ender had dug out a bigger space so that he and the little creeper could romp around and play comfortably.

The only real unfortunate situation was that they had to share a bed, even that wasn't so bad, however. Creeps and Ender both agreed that the other of the duo made an excellent cuddle buddy.

Ender tried to stretch without disturbing him. Unlike Ender, Creeps was a fairly light sleeper. Even the slightest movement or noise could possibly wake him. So, if Ender got out of bed or moved too much, Creeps would awaken as well.

Besides, the bed was warm.

Ender felt Creeps shift beside him, then stretch with a small, high pitched yawn. The little creeper awoke afterwards. "Ender?" he said when he first opened his eyes. "I'm hungry…"

Ender yawned and stretched. "Of course you are, buddy," he replied, patting Creeps's head, to which the seven-year-old giggled cutely.

Ender got out of bed and walked towards the chest at the end of the room, a shoddily made thing that he built himself. He opened it, quickly picked out a few pieces of different foods, and sat in the center of the floor. Creeps practically leaped out of bed and scrambled towards Ender and the food, happy to take mouthfuls of potatoes, carrots, and pork from the armful that Ender had gathered.

"Hey, Creeps, you wanna go outside with me?" Ender offered after the two had finished eating. Creeps nodded excitedly and rushed out the door. Immediately afterwards he ran back in. "Coooold!" He screeched, eyes wide, shivering. He dove back into bed, pulled the covers over him and curled up in a ball, trying to warm himself up. Ender burst out laughing, he hadn't expected it to be cold outside. "Sorry, Creeps, I didn't know," he said between laughing fits. "Anyway, I'll be right back, I've got to go get some more food… and some other stuff, too."

Creeps popped out from the steadily growing mound of blankets on the bed, Ender managed to steal one from every village he visited. Lately he'd been having to make several trips, by now the villagers must have noticed that some of their stuff was going missing.

He stepped outside and then teleported to a village nearby. Again, just like every other time, the villagers didn't even notice he was there. Ender followed his usual routine of sneaking around, teleporting in and out of different houses. Among the thing he took were more food, two scarves, one for himself and one for Creeps, a roll of bandages and some tape, some flint and steel for starting fires, making a mental note that he needed to carve out a fire pit or fireplace of some sort, about a dozen or so pieces of paper and some pencils for Creeps, and a couple of new books for himself. Ender had quite the passion for reading nowadays, he would read by torchlight when Creeps went to bed and he couldn't sleep. Weirdly enough, after reading a book thoroughly, he would always return it to the village he got it from. When he was about to teleport, he spied a few glass bottles on a shelf. He of course took some, being that it would be much easier to fill a few bottles with water for Creeps whenever he got thirsty instead of having to teleport with him to a nearby spring or pond so that he could get a drink.

When he returned home, Creeps was still goofing around as usual, currently doodling on the last piece of paper from Ender's previous trip. Since he had no hands, or arms for that matter, he would draw with the pencil in his mouth. Ender dropped his load and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Creeps spat out his pencil and ran over to Ender. "What did you get this time?!" Creeps asked, jumping up and down excitedly. Ender was still trying to catch his breath. "I'll show you… in a sec… gotta catch my breath first…" the blue-eyed enderman panted tiredly. Creeps impatiently walked over to the bag that Ender brought back and promptly started digging through it himself. "Be careful, there's glass in there," Ender warned, sitting up. He composed himself as Creeps squealed in excitement at the sight of more drawing paper, the scarves, and of course, some potatoes he brought back.

Creeps took out the drawing paper and the pencils that Ender had brought back and went back to drawing again. Ender sat next to him and watched, eating a piece of beef he had brought back with him.

Suddenly a sound scared the living daylights out of the two children. But it wasn't any ordinary sound…

It was a SCREAM.

A bloodcurdling cry echoed through the air and Ender nearly jumped out of his skin. Acting quickly, Ender dug out some blocks of stone and dirt from one of the walls and blocked the doorway, their home would go completely unnoticed this way. His heart thudded hard in his chest, Creeps almost screamed as the same sound echoed throughout the area once more, but Ender slapped a hand on the little creeper's mouth and waited out the danger. Someone out there was quite obviously being killed, Ender just felt grateful that the person was neither him nor Creeps. Creeps was shaking like a leaf in the breeze. The single torch in their home lit up the inside of their shelter dimly. The two sat in the corner, comforting each other with their presence.

Even long after the screams stopped, neither of them dared to move, or even speak, for the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 2

Ender awoke with a start. He had fallen asleep in the corner, Creeps did as well, as he was currently fast asleep, using Ender's lap as a pillow. Ender sighed in relief. The two of them hadn't been discovered. He put a hand on Creeps's head. Now more relaxed, Ender let his mind wander a bit. His left hand felt the floor for a book as he himself examined Creeps for injuries. He looked to be fine. Eventually Ender found the sought-after reading material and settled down to read.

Creeps woke up about an hour later, sat up straight, and looked around. "OK, we're still here," he said after staring at the wall for a few minutes, which confused Ender. After that, he said, "Imma go eat now," and ran up to the chest containing their food and started eating a carrot.

"I guess I'll go check outside to see if whatever it was is gone now," Ender told Creeps, then teleported before the little creeper could object or cling to him.

Ender teleported to several places, searching for where whatever made the sound could've been. When he teleported, he nearly screamed at what he saw.

Blood. Tons of it. And a small pile of a powder of some sort. Upon further inspection, it appeared to be gunpowder. Ender froze. Gunpowder comes from creepers, he thought, then suddenly realized…

Someone DIED here.

Fairly close to their shelter, as well. If either Creeps or himself made a single sound, they would've ended up like whoever this was. Just a puddle of blood and whatever they left behind when they died.

Ender accidentally slipped on the dew-covered grass and fell forward, landing in a puddle of the sticky red fluid. He screamed, unable to catch himself, panicked, and teleported back to shelter.

As soon as he got there, Creeps flipped out at the sight of the red liquid all over Ender's face, hands, and arms. "You need a band aid!" he shrieked, But Ender explained everything to him before he could rush over to the carved out shelf in the wall to retrieve the box of bandages.

"I need to wash this stuff off. Wanna come to the lake with me?" Ender offered as soon as Creeps had settled down. Creeps's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes!" He yelled happily. Ender picked him up and teleported to the nearby pond. Creeps wriggled out of his grasp excitedly and went splashing into the shallow shore of the pond. The pond itself wasn't very deep, at the lowest it was about half a block deep. Ender hesitated, ancient enderman instinct nagging him not to go in, but he knew that he would be fine if he did. Ender slid into the water and began scrubbing at his face, hands, and arms, trying to get the blood off. It proved to be a difficult task, as the liquid had begun to dry out on his skin.

After he was done washing himself off, Ender focused on working with his water controlling abilities. He had gotten much better than when he was first banished from the End, as he could now form weapons and other things out of the stuff, such as whips, but his favorite two that he used most often were a shield and a short blade. He formed these two things now, climbed out of the pond, and began to practice by fighting a tree. He finally felt satisfied after carving a few deep cuts into the trunk, one of which was so deep that sap began to seep out.

Suddenly he felt something leap on top of him, and Ender screamed loudly. It turned out to just be Creeps, laughing his head off after Ender composed himself. "Don't do that to me!" He screeched, shoving the giggling creeper off of him. "Sorry," Creeps apologized between giggles. Ender, in response, tickled him. Creeps reacted with a shriek and surprised laughter. The two kept goofing around for several hours. By the time noon came around, the two children were pretty worn out, covered in dirt, and hungrier than they had been in a while.

"Alright, we should go home and have lunch now," said Ender, picking Creeps up, who let his head rest on Ender's shoulder. "We've got stuff to do at home anyhow."

Ender teleported back to the shelter, threw together a meal for each of them, then suddenly remembered the fireplace he was going to make and started working on that. Earlier he had picked up some more items, this time from players' homes. He had found cookies, bread, a few more blankets, some gloves that he could wear, more glass bottles, and netherrack. He had heard that netherrack, once set on fire, would burn forever until it was put out by an outside force. Perfect material for a fireplace. He made a crude carved out hole that sort of resembled a fireplace, then lit the netherrack. Luckily, everything went smoothly.

Ender suddenly remembered the cookies he had gotten. He got them out from their hiding place and tapped Creeps gently, who was drawing a picture. Creeps looked behind him at Ender, saw the cookies, and gasped excitedly. "You got COOKIES?!" he squealed, immediately afterwards Ender nodded, took one, and gave it to him, smiling. Creeps happily nibbled away at the pastry, and Ender sat down and enjoyed a cookie or two himself.

After that, Ender and Creeps drew pictures together. They spent hours working on drawings and then showing each other the end result. Ender taped the drawings up on the wall with medical tape once they were finished with that.

Afterwards, the two were exhausted and went to bed.

"Ender?" Creeps questioned. "How come we don't see any other kids around here?"

Ender shifted his weight a bit, then replied, "I don't know. I guess other people don't like living around here."

Creeps snuggled up closer to Ender to keep warm. "I'm glad I've at least got you here, though," he said, before yawning quietly and going to sleep.

Ender put an arm around him. "Me, too, buddy. Me too."


	5. Chapter 3

Ender awoke to a flash of lightning the next morning. Thunder crashed in the distance. Creeps was snuggled up next to him, still asleep as usual. Of course it had to storm today. Now I can't go get anything because everyone will be looking, Ender thought. The young enderman rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was surprised that Creeps hadn't woken up yet. Usually during a storm, Creeps would wake up first, then shake Ender awake and ask him to cuddle him because he was frightened. Creeps snuggled up close to Ender in his sleep. Ender wrapped an arm around the sleeping child and immediately felt tired again. He could hear the rain pounding the surface of the hill that their shelter was dug into. Lighting flashed furiously from outside their doorway, followed by rolls of thunder. Creeps continued sleeping, snoring softly. Ender patted his friend's head and closed his eyes, drifting off.

He had almost gotten to sleep, when a huge flash of lightning seared his closed eyes and thunder crashed so loudly, he thought his eardrums would burst. Creeps's eyes flew open and he screamed, squishing himself even closer to Ender. The two were so close together now, that Ender could feel Creeps's heartbeat hammering in his chest. Ender wrapped his shaking arms around Creeps and held him close. This was one of the only ways to calm Creeps down. Creeps was shaking so much, it was like holding the personification of an earthquake.

Another loud crack of thunder made the two children jump, Ender pulled about six blankets over them. Ender and Creeps cuddled closer still, each trying to gain comfort from the other's presence. The loud sound of the rain drowned out most of their efforts to speak in whispers. Ender got up, blocked the doorway with blocks of stone and dirt, and hurriedly clambered back into the bed, where he felt safer.

Creeps gravitated towards him like a magnet, smushing himself up close to him.

"I'm sc-scared…!" Creeps stuttered, hiding under the blankets and shrieking as another rattlingly loud roll of thunder scared the two half to death once more. Ender hugged the little creeper tightly, squeezing his eyes closed. The two were trembling. Ender was silently debating whether he should continue hugging Creeps or cover his ears.

Suddenly the storm died down. They were still shaking, but the more distant the thunder and lightning became, the calmer they became, until all was quiet.

Creeps peeped out from under the covers. "I-is it over?" the little creeper squeaked, scooting closer to Ender. Ender hugged Creeps tighter. "I think so," the enderman said, half expecting it to start raining and thundering again. Creeps climbed onto Ender's lap and sat there. Ender drew the little creeper closer to him and wrapped him into a hug, attempting to calm him further.

After Creeps and himself were calm again, Ender got up and unblocked the doorway. He was greeted with a whiff of damp, earthy smelling air, which relaxed him further. The rain was definitely gone, but clouds still crowded the sky. He stepped outside cautiously, peering around a tree to see if anyone was watching them. No one yet. Creeps poked Ender in the rib with his foot and asked, "Hey, Ender, can I go splash in the puddles?"

Ender looked down at the little creeper, who started making puppy dog eyes at him. He sighed, he knew Creeps was going to get all muddy and they would have to stop at the lake again, but he said yes anyway. Besides, it gave him an excuse to leave him on his own and go take a look at the damage, of there was any. Creeps wriggled out of Ender's grasp excitedly and ran off, immediately falling on his face as soon as he started. Ender laughed and started to survey the area, making sure to take a quick glance at Creeps whenever possible. Everything seemed ok, and he was about to go take Creeps back to their shelter, when he heard terrified, piercing screams and the child himself ran towards him at full speed, his face smeared with mud and dirt, soaking wet from splashing around in the puddles. Creeps rammed into Ender full-force, causing the young enderman to slip on the damp grass and fall backwards into the mud. Then the two saw a scene that would be forever burned into their memory.

A creeper burst out of the bushes, fleeing from something unseen until a pursuing player holding a sword ran out as well, hot on the creeper's trail. The player tackled the creeper and flattened the screaming creature to the ground. "No! Stop! What are you doing?!" Screamed the doomed creeper. "I have family! Get off! No! Sto-!"

The creeper was cut off by the player repeatedly driving the sword into their chest, spilling blood on the ground where Creeps had stood just moments before.

The two children were shaking, muted by fear, their voices caught in their throats as the player mercilessly stabbed their victim over and over, until they stopped, wiped their brow, and surveyed the damage they had done. Suddenly they reached into the hole they had made in the creeper's chest and pulled out a rather bloody pile of gunpowder, smiling psychotically the entire time. They pulled out a pouch and poured the fistful of blood-caked powder into it.

Then they stared directly at the two children, readying their sword.

Ender got up and burst into a run, scooping up Creeps, but he slipped on the mud and fell hard, knocking the wind out of himself. They player had started to pursue the two by this point. "Ender, RUN!" Creeps shrieked, and Ender shakily stood, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Ender teleported back to their shelter and blocked the door with several layers of dirt, panicking more than he ever had in his life. Creeps was shaking more than ever, they sat in their corner and snuggled close together. Creeps was sobbing and shaking with fear while Ender hugged him tightly. Ender was frantically trying to shush him, terrified that the player would find them and did what they did to their last victim. "Creeps, shh! You don't want them to find us, right?" He whisper-shouted at Creeps hurriedly, Creeps shook his head and tried to hush himself, but ended up resorting to burying his face into a nearby pillow.

The two went silent soon afterwards, squished uncomfortably into the corner, Creeps was sniffling, hyperventilating still, his breathing was ragged and rushed. Occasional sobs escaped him. Ender closed his eyes tightly and felt the floor for his special charm.

His mother's necklace.

Whenever he got to a point in time where he could no longer be level headed, be it from fear, anger, or sadness, he would pick up the necklace, close his eyes, and sort out the situation in his head. The beautiful stone pendant was started to get worn away from being rubbed at so much, but Ender didn't seem to notice. He used this trick now.

Hours later, he opened his eyes, suddenly jolting upright. He must have fallen asleep. He looked over at Creeps, who was asleep and had his head on Ender's lap. The poor kid must have cried himself to sleep. Ender was half starved, but considering what had happened, didn't feel like eating all that much. When he blinked, he saw the player, and the other creeper, and the blood. Especially the blood.

Creeps twitched in his sleep, and Ender put a hand on the other child's head. He still felt adrenaline rushing through his veins. It made it a little hard to sit still.

Creeps suddenly bolted upright with a scream. Ender nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound. Clutching his chest, trying to calm himself, he asked Creeps if he was ok. One look at Ender's scared-half-to-death expression solved whatever emotional issues Creeps had at that moment, as the little creeper started laughing so hard he began to almost choke on the air. "I-I'm sorry… (at this point he burst out laughing again) your face… I had a nightmare but…" he snickered, "I'm ok now…"

Ender gave him a hug. "Are you sure?" He asked, and Creeps nodded. "I'm hungry… do we still have any food left?"

"I'm pretty sure we do," Ender replied, "Why don't you go check?"

"But it's warm over here… and I'm tired…" Creeps whined, snuggling up to Ender. Ender sighed, picked him up, and set the little creeper on his lap, cuddling him close. "I'm tired too, buddy. I guess we can skip that then," he said tiredly, snatching a blanket from the floor and covering himself and Creeps with it. Almost instantly after the two had settled down, Creeps fell asleep. Ender did the same soon afterward.


	6. Chapter 4

Ender slowly opened his eyes. It was dark in their little shelter, and he didn't feel like getting up all that much. Besides, Creeps was still asleep, and the young enderman didn't want to wake him. Especially considering what had happened the day before.

Creeps mumbled indistinct words in his sleep, Ender just patted his head in response. His throat was dry and it felt raw. He began to pick at some of the dried mud on his arm. The two hadn't even dared to move from their corner since the incident, and Creeps had been up half of the night, waking up screaming from recurring nightmares. This was probably the longest the little creeper had stayed asleep since before they saw that other creeper get killed.

At least they were safe. For now at least.

Ender hugged Creeps tightly and closed his eyes, trying to get back to sleep again. He was still nervous, his senses were on high alert.

Ender soon was about half asleep. Suddenly Creeps shifted positions in his sleep, kicking Ender in the rib hard in the process. Ender freaked out, fell over, and hit his head on the floor, waking up Creeps, who responded to the situation with a startled cry.

"Ow, ow!" Ender shrieked, crumpled on the floor. "What was that for?!"

"I'm sorry!" Creeps shrieked back at him. "I didn't mean too! I'm so sorry!"

"Ah! My head…!" the young enderman groaned. Creeps snuggled up next to him. "I'm sorry! Am I helping?!"

Ender felt a strange feeling in his chest, as if his very soul was reacting to Creeps's apology. Then, quite suddenly, the pain vanished.

"Ugh… Wait… I think… What? I'm just fine…" Ender said, slightly confused. He sat up and stared at the ceiling. His head and ribs now felt like nothing had even happened. Creeps suddenly looked at the floor and exclaimed, "Hey, Ender, I didn't know you planted flowers in here. When did you have the time to do that?"

"Wha-?" Ender started, but cut himself off when he saw several small flower buds dotting the dirt patch on the floor that the two were sitting on.

"I… I didn't…" the young enderman replied. "I think it was you…"

Creeps shook his head. "No way. I don't remember planting those…"

"No, I mean… Creeps, I think you might have powers like mine," Ender said. "I think those flowers grew when my head stopped hurting. I think you healed me."

Creeps's eyes went wide. "You mean… I have healing powers?"

Ender nodded. "I've read some stuff about it. The book I read said that getting powers like that is really rare. But… there's really only one way to find out if it's real or not…"

Ender searched the floor for a sharp object, then found a sharp little piece of flint. He closed his eyes tightly, then cut his arm with it. He could feel it start to bleed. He opened his eyes and saw the damage he had done to himself. A fairly long slice on his upper arm. It stung horribly, and when he saw the blood, he nearly passed out. Creeps shrieked in terror, saying, "Why'd you do that?! Doesn't that hurt?!"

"Yes. A lot. Try to heal it," Ender replied. "Just do what you did last time."

"You mean… ok, so I went like this..." Creeps snuggled close to Ender, then said, "And- woah, lookit!"

Ender looked at the cut on his arm. It appeared to close up on its own and vanish.

"Woah… that's WEIRD…" Creeps said quietly. "I really DO have healing powers…"

Ender nodded, staring at where the cut he gave himself used to be. Creeps really did have the power to heal. Not a single trace of the wound remained. But some questions still lingered in his mind, ones that couldn't be answered by the little creeper himself. Questions such as, "How did he get these powers?' and, "How the heck does stuff like this work?"

Ender's thought session was soon interrupted. "Ender, can we go outside now?" Creeps asked. "Pretty sure that person's gone…"

"Sure," Ender replied, standing up for the first time in hours, stretching his legs. Creeps got up and stretched as well. Both of them desperately needed fresh air. Ender began to unblock the doorway. Once he got it unblocked, he peered around the corner cautiously. Last time was a close call. They could've been killed in the same gruesome manner that the other creeper was subjected to. If Ender had been unable to teleport for some reason, both of them would've died.

He gasped at what he saw around the other corner. Blood, lots of it, everywhere. It seemed like a couple of battles had been fought there. The liquid was splattered on the grass, bloody footprints decorated the area with red.

"Maybe we shouldn't go out," Creeps said suddenly, scaring Ender half to death and making him jump. "Stop doing that! You're going to kill me one of these days!" yelled Ender, clutching his chest. Creeps giggled in response to the mini lecture. "Sorry," he giggled apologetically. Ender simply sighed and shook his head, muttering, "What am I going to do with you?"

He then stepped outside, staring at the pools of blood that surrounded them. Whoever the blood belonged to, they were long dead now. Ender shuddered, hoping that someone wasn't waiting to kill the two in the bushes or something. Whoever that player was, they had devastated the landscape as well, leaving huge holes in the ground and trees with missing trunks in their wake. Creeps was scanning the area, his eyes wide. "Wow… they sure wrecked this place, didn't they?" he said in a quiet, slightly awed voice. Ender nodded and replied, "Yeah. They also clearly don't know how to pick up after themselves."

The boys stood in their doorway for a very long time after that, just staring out at the destruction left among them. Creeps yawned and stretched his little legs, saying, "Why am I so tired? We just woke up…"

"You probably used up a lot of energy when you were using your new powers," Ender responded, referring to the little incident involving Creeps getting his healing abilities. "Not to mention you were up half of the night."

Creeps nodded and slumped against Ender tiredly. Ender picked Creeps up, and Creeps let his head rest on Ender's shoulder, exhausted. Healing people seems to drain a lot of his energy, Ender thought to himself. He then decided to wander away from the house for a while, walking up the hill, out of the clearing of trees near their home.

Presently the enderman stumbled upon a strange-looking body of water.

Ender just stared at it for a while, kind of awed. The floor of the pool was made of glowstone, a material he had only seen a few times before, once in a player's home, another time when he accidentally stumbled into a Nether Portal and had to apologize repeatedly to a family of zombie pigmen he had scared the living daylights out of. The edges were made of stone, and sea lanterns also decorated the pool on the sides and underwater. He crouched to take a peek at the bottom, still holding Creeps, who by this time was fast asleep, in his arms. Ender stared at his reflection, his own blue eyes stared at him. Suddenly he spotted another figure behind him in the reflection in the water. He turned around quickly, staring directly into a pair of white, glowing eyes.

Ender leapt back with a yelp and nearly fell into the water. The player who stared back at him looked only about as old as he himself was, but he was, in fact, a player.

"D'you need something, or…" the other child asked Ender, trailing off midsentence. He didn't even seem to realize he was speaking to an enderman.

"U-um… n-no…" Ender stuttered nervously. "I-I was j-just… um…"

"Are you sure?" The Minecraftian child asked, stepping forward, forcing Ender to take another step backwards, closer to the water. "Because you've been staring at the water for a solid five minutes."

Ender said nothing, looking behind him at the crystalline blue liquid in the pool. Creeps shifted in his sleep, and Ender nearly lost his balance for a bit before correcting himself. The white-eyed child suddenly extended his hand towards him, offering a handshake. "My name's Herobrine," the child said. "What's yours?"

"U-um… I'm E-Ender," Ender stammered, shaking Herobrine's hand.

"Herobrine! What's taking so long?! We were supposed to be back home an hour ago!" called a voice that sounded like it belonged to another child Ender's age. "In a sec, Steve! I'm making friends right now!" Herobrine called back.

"W-wait? An hour? So you saw Creeps and I-"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw you walk over here. It's not really a big deal," Herobrine said, interrupting Ender. Suddenly another kid ran into the area. He looked almost exactly like Herobrine, except that his eyes were a kind of purplish blue color of instead of being pupiless and white.

"Making friends? This looks like a recipe to get you killed! And enderman AND a creeper in the same place at the same time!" the other kid screamed. Herobrine merely chuckled a little and said, "Pssh, you worry too much, Steve. These guys are fine. At least Ender is. I'm not to sure about the creeper, though. He's been asleep the entire time."

"Who, Creeps?" Ender asked. "He's fine. He can't even explode."

"Are you really s-sure?" asked Steve, hiding behind Herobrine nervously. Ender nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of the reason that he's not with his parents…"

"So, your parents and you are taking care of him?" questioned Herobrine. "Or, wait, is he kinda like a brother to you then?"

"My parents are… Not here…" Ender said, hoping he was being vague enough. "So, no. Just me."

"That's so sad," whispered Steve quietly. Suddenly a voice called for the other two children. "Oh, that's our aunt, we should go-" Steve started, but Herobrine simply grabbed Ender's wrist and started to pull him along with them. "Gah! Wait! Where are you-" Ender began to say. Herobrine interrupted him by saying, "My house… Don't worry, my aunt and uncle are fine with monsters like you guys. Unlike everybody else here."

Monsters. That's what we are? Ender thought to himself, a little peeved. Herobrine lead Ender up a hill and to a house made out of oak wood planks, where a woman, who must have been Steve and Herobrine's aunt, stood on the porch and waited for them. She wasn't even fazed by the fact that an enderman and a creeper had followed the boys home. Creeps stirred in his sleep and awoke while Herobrine was introducing the two to his aunt. "Ah! Where are we?!" yelped the little creeper, the woman began to step down from the porch to meet the two in person. Ender was nervous. He was coming face to face with a player that was much older than him, after all.

"Nice to meet you two," she said, shaking Ender's hand. Creeps just stared at her and shyly said hi. Ender had never witnessed Creeps say anything quieter than that, ever. But of course, she was of the same species as the person who had tried to kill the two the day before.

Everyone, Creeps and Ender included, went inside after that.

Ender just sat on the couch awkwardly, his hands folded in his lap. He could barely remember what having a parental figure felt like, and that scared him a little. It had been so long since he had seen his parents. He presently wondered if they had forgotten about him. Half the time he forgot about them because he was too busy gathering food, stealing things, and just generally trying to keep himself and Creeps, who was currently starting to get more comfortable around the two boys they had met, alive.

"Hey, Ender, you've been staring out the window for, like, five minutes now. Are you ok?" Herobrine asked suddenly, jolting the enderman out of his thought session. "Um… yeah… sort of…" Ender replied awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with him. Creeps clambered up onto the couch next to him. "What's wrong? You look worried…" Creeps asked. Ender looked over at Creeps. He looked so happy there, in an actual house instead of the crappy little shelter he had dug out of the hill. This kind of living space was something he would never be able to provide. Even Herobrine and Steve's aunt had wandered over to the couch. Ender suddenly broke down and started to cry. He told them all everything: being banished from his home, his weird water-based powers, finding Creeps and taking care of him, having to steal everything to survive, and even about the incident from the day before, when they were nearly killed.

Ender now had his face buried in his hands, unable to share any more. He felt and gentle hand on his shoulder. "I… didn't realize the situation you two were in…" Herobrine's aunt told him. "I think… would you two like to stay with us, for the time being?"

Ender looked up suddenly, his eyes meeting hers. "R… really? Could we…?" he sniffed, wiping away tears. Creeps's eyes lit up with excitement. "REALLY?!" He shouted excitedly. Herobrine and Steve's aunt nodded. "We wouldn't want you two to be out in the cold longer than you already have, would we? But, of course, I would have to get my husband's permission first-"

As soon as that was said, a Minecraftian man walked through the door. He froze when he saw the young enderman with fresh tears on his cheeks, sitting on the couch next to a young creeper, his nephews, and wife. He kept his eyes locked on the two as he drew his sword. "All three of you. Move. There are monsters behind you," he said in a worried tone, Creeps shrank against Ender in fear. Ender was pretty much frozen. "No, wait! We're going to take these two in!" The woman cried, stopping her husband in his tracks. "They have nowhere to stay… they are only children, and they've already nearly been killed! Please, just let these poor children stay here with us for the time being…"

He lowered his sword and began to rub his forehead with one hand, sighing. "Alright, then…" he muttered.

"Um… I should… probably get our st-stuff, then…" Ender stammered, relieved that the situation hadn't turned as sour as it could've. He teleported back to their shelter to quickly gather a few of their possessions: a few of the drawings Creeps and himself had drawn, some of his books, blank pieces of drawing paper and pencils, Creeps's favorite blanket and pillow, and of course his mother's necklace. He couldn't leave any of those things behind.

He returned to the house straight away afterwards. Creeps was already happily playing with Steve, laughing with excitement and joy. Ender got an earful about expectations and the house rules, such as curfew times and making sure not to steal from people anymore.

"The problem is, we don't really have anywhere for you two to sleep… I guess we'll get a room or two built for you, but in the meantime… oh! You could sleep on the couch! But then we need a space for Creeps to-" his new caretaker told him, but Ender interrupted by saying, "It's ok. Creeps and I will share."

"We're like a big happy family in here!" Chortled Creeps, and Steve's uncle looked uncomfortable.

After they got everything settled, which took all day, all four boys were sent to bed. Creeps snuggled up close to Ender, like normal. I could get used to this, Ender thought to himself as Creeps drifted off next to him. The two were safe. The inside of the house was quiet and warm. Ender was soon sound asleep, lulled by the quiet, clean warmth of the house.


	7. Chapter 5

Ender woke up to the sun shining in his eyes the next morning. Steve and Herobrine's aunt was in the kitchen when he awoke. "Oh! You're up! Sorry if I woke you up, dear," she said in a kind, gentle voice. Creeps was still asleep next to him.

"I-It's fine…" Ender stuttered slightly. The fact that he stuttered when talking to people he wasn't comfortable with bothered him slightly, but the woman didn't seem to notice the problem. She simply continued about her business. Ender just continued to lazily lay there, staring up at the ceiling as Creeps continued to sleep. This was a vast improvement compared to living in their old shelter, as it was much warmer in the house and Ender didn't have to worry about himself or Creeps being killed. Not to mention it was much cleaner and quieter in the house.

Ender fell back asleep again for at least another hour, until he felt someone poking him in the arm. He heard Herobrine's voice say, "Hey, are you dead or what?"

Ender opened his eyes, to which Herobrine said, "Oh, wait, nevermind. Geez, how much of the day are you planning to waste? If you're gonna live here, you should know your way around the neighborhood and stuff."

Ender said nothing as he sat upright, until he asked, "Where's Creeps?

"Oh, him? He's outside," Herobrine replied. Then the door opened, to which he said, "Speaking of small, annoying creatures...:"

Both Steve and Creeps had entered the house, sweaty, gasping for breath, and red-faced. Creeps, who had a sizable bruise on his left cheek, fell over immediately. "Ugh, my stomach… I ran too much…" he groaned, curled up in a ball on the floor as Ender ran to his aid. Steve started trying to speak, but couldn't get much out since he was out of breath. "Speak English, please," remarked Herobrine, and Steve said, "I… saw… a few kids… They said that… the next time they saw… any of us… outside… They'd tear us apart…"

"One of them hit me…" Creeps whimpered, teary-eyed. Ender hugged him. "Who are this kids, and where did you see them last?" the enderman questioned Steve.

"We ran from them at- wait, you're not planning on FIGHTING them, are you?" Steve asked, a worried look crossing his face. "Not really. I just want to talk to them. Why?" Ender asked.

"Just tell us where they are. We'll take care of them," Herobrine said, to prove a point, he unsheathed an iron sword.

"We saw them near the pool," Creeps said quietly. "They wouldn't let us go anywhere near it, and it's sooo hot outside…"

Herobrine took the sword and put it back in its sheath. "I'm taking this, and you're not stopping me, Steve," he told his brother, who remained silent. Ender also remained quiet as he opened the door and stepped outdoors. Creeps was right. It was boiling hot, and if those kids wouldn't let his friends into the pool, he may have to make them.

Eventually Herobrine and Ender found the group of kids Steve had mentioned. A few of them were in the water, laughing at another line of children they refused to let in.

"People like that make me want to puke," the young enderman remarked, and Herobrine smirked. "Same," he replied, his eyes glowing brightly.

Suddenly a kid, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, noticed them. "Oh, look who it is," the kid said. "It's Herobrine. Looks like he brought a friend, too."

The entire group of kids started snickering. A lot of the children they had refused entry to were starting to leave. "So, making friends with monsters now, are we, Hero?" the kid smirked, Ender gritted his teeth and willed himself to remain calm.

"Your parents are such wimps. Oh, wait, I mean aunt and uncle. Your parents don't even give you the time of day."

Herobrine growled, quite a terrifying sound to come from someone who was only nine years old. "Tell your little friends of yours to let people in. I'm not in the mood for your crap," he said in a low voice.

"You think you're the boss of me?" the kid replied. "I'm twelve years old, and you're, what, eight? Step off, you little shi-"

He didn't have time to finish, as Herobrine lashed out and socked him across the face, hard. A loud crack echoed through the air, the kid screamed. "My tooth! You knocked my tooth out!" he screamed, blood dripping from his mouth. Herobrine had an insane looking smile on his face.

Ender was starting to panic as Herobrine hit the other kid again and again. He seemed to be losing himself.

Ender dodged an attack made by another kid by grabbing a hold on the child's wrist. He pushed the kid over, then suddenly tripped and fell over backwards. He was close to the water now. The other kid smiled. "I might as well push you in," he remarked. "It's not like Herobrine would feel anything if his only friend died. That FREAK doesn't HAVE feelings."

Ender knew he would be fine if he fell into the water, but the comment still made him sick to his stomach. The kid nearly pushed him into the water, but Ender teleported behind him and shoved HIM in instead.

 _I need to focus,_ Ender thought. _Relax. Breath…_

With a gesture of Ender's hand, the water rippled and then watery whips snared everyone inside.

"If you won't let them in," Ender said, gesturing towards the banned children who were now watching the display in awe, "I'll make YOU get OUT."

Using his powers, he dumped the gang of children out of the water. A few icicles suddenly formed in the air. "Leave," he told them. "And I better not see you here again."

The leader of the gang was still getting beaten up beyond repair by Herobrine. Blood poured out of his mouth and several cuts on his face and arms. Herobrine was just smiling the entire time. "Stop, stop!" he cried. "We'll leave! Stop!"

"Then leave," Herobrine replied, returning to normal. The kid struggled to get up and then fled the area. "You're both freaks! I'm telling my mom and dad!"

"Good for you," Ender heard Herobrine mutter under his breath. Ender simply watched as the gang of children ran off. Even the ones who were initially cheering for the two had left. It seemed that the excitement of the battle had been the only thing keeping them there.

"You know, I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship," Herobrine said with a slight smile, looking up at Ender. Ender nodded, then started walking back to the house. Creeps practically burst outside as soon as Ender set a foot down on the porch, ramming into him and almost making him fall over. "You're back!" he squealed with happiness, Ender said nothing in reply and wrapped his arms around the little creeper. "Man, you took forever! Steve and I were here all by ourselves and I was so worried!"

"You were here ALONE?! I thought your aunt was watching you two!" Ender said, shocked, his speech more directed towards Steve. "Oh, she and my uncle are at work right now," the Minecraftian replied shyly.

"Ok, enough of this. The pool's been cleaned out now," Herobrine said. "Although, after what we just went through, I don't really feel like swimming all that much. I'm starving. The rest of you guys can go though."

"YES!" Creeps squealed, freeing himself from Ender's grasp and taking off down the hill. "Creeps! Wait!" Ender yelled after him, then teleported to the pool. Creeps was waiting for him in the water. "Come on!" he called, bobbing in the water. "It's really nice in here!"

Ender hesitantly slid into the water, and Creeps turned out to be correct. The water was nice, not too hot and not too cold. He kept a good eye on Creeps, making sure he didn't drown or slip on the stone floor surrounding the pool when he was running around. Steve must have decided to stay home as well, as neither of the two ever saw him leave the house. After a while of goofing around in the water, the two climbed out and went back home.

As soon as they got back into the house, Creeps exhaustedly flopped onto the couch. "I'm so tired…" he said quietly, then fell asleep. Steve and Herobrine were goofing off in the kitchen.

Ender sat on the couch next to Creeps, who was kind of curled up into a little ball as he slept. Ender simply picked him up and set him on his lap as he stared at the ceiling. This was a vast improvement to their old living situation. Now, he and Creeps could finally make friends instead of hoping they could find enough food to survive for the next day ahead of them. They both finally had parental figures again. And, most comfortingly, they didn't have to worry about being killed every ten minutes.

Creeps shifted in his sleep, and Ender was immediately thankful that they were not in their old little shelter anymore. Creeps shifted in his sleep once more as a shout from Steve saying, "Stop throwing bread at me!" Echoed from the kitchen. Ender stifled a laugh as Herobrine responded, "Pfft. Or what? You'll hit me? I'm untouchable."

When their two parental figures arrived back home, Herobrine and Ender each got a lecture. Apparently they had heard everything about the fight that happened, and they were a little miffed about it. Creeps had been awake for a long while by this point and had started making a pillow fort with Steve, but was having trouble because, as a creeper, he had no arms or hands to help build it with. Ender just settled down to read after he was done being talked to, instinctively keeping one eye on Creeps as he read.

Eventually they were called to dinner, something that Ender hadn't experienced in years. The whole meal was awkwardly quiet, as no one really had anything to discuss.

After dinner and some goofing around afterwards, all four children were sent to bed.

"Wouldn't it be, 'go to couch,' since we're sleeping on the couch?" Creeps asked Ender as they laid there. Ender left the question unanswered as he just shook his head and closed his eyes. Creeps kept peppering the enderman with random questions, wide awake and most likely unable to sleep. Eventually, however, he did go to sleep, as did Ender.

Ender felt someone poking him hours later. He slowly opened his eyes to see Herobrine repeatedly jabbing him in the shoulder with his hand. Creeps was still asleep, curled up next to Ender.

"Mnn… what? Why're you up?" Ender groaned tiredly. "FINALLY, you're awake. Geez, I've been poking you for forever," Herobrine whispered hurriedly. "Come here, bring Creeps too. I think there's people outside."

Ender slid off of the couch, Creeps in his arms. He followed Herobrine to his room and up to the window. Herobrine peered through his shut curtains quietly, his glowing eyes dimming themselves so that he wouldn't be noticed as easily. "Come here," he whispered. Ender walked over and peered through the curtains. Herobrine was right. A fairly large group of people were in front of their house, talking among themselves. "Is this normal?" Ender whispered to Herobrine, tense. One of them had a peculiar stone and a piece of metal in their hands. Herobrine shook his head. "I'm going to get Steve. Wait here," he whispered back, leaving the room for a second before returning with Steve behind him.

Suddenly the person with the stone and metal piece crouched and struck the two together repeatedly, setting the house on fire.


	8. Chapter 6

The children reacted with screams as the flames spread, Creeps awoke as soon as the fire had been lit. They fled from the room and the two adults of the house burst from their room, looking half-asleep, and rushed them outside. Once they were out, Ender struggled to use his powers to put out the flames, he was quickly overwhelmed by how fast they grew in size and number. He felt a rough grip on his shoulder and was pulled back, then thrown roughly to the ground.

He was staring directly into the eyes of a mob hunter. He started to call for help, looking around frantically and seeing Creeps in the same situation as him. The poor child was screaming bloody murder, as a Minecraftian, a player, held him down with their foot. "ENDER! HELP! PLEASE!" He screamed, tears pouring down his face. Ender looked over at his caretakers, only to see them unconscious on the grass of the yard, Herobrine was fighting with all he had against a mob hunter while Steve quivered in terror, his lip was cut and bleeding.

With a gesture of Ender's hand, an icicle shot through the air and struck the other Minecraftian's leg. They howled in pain and released Creeps, who looked worn out, battered, and bruised. Ender's own attacker stomped hard on his wrist, pinning him to the ground as more mob hunters surrounded the two. Ender cried out in pain, the player seemed to enjoy it, however, instead of being put off or feeling sorry for the young enderman. Herobrine suddenly got tossed on the ground next to him. "I found this little bitch trying to run off," chortled a player cruelly. "I've taken a look at him. Those eyes definitely aren't human ones."

"Get away from me," huffed Herobrine tiredly, Ender had never seen anyone look so battered in his life. He was attempting to crawl away from the circle of players that surrounded him, Ender, and Creeps, but was quickly kicked back into the center

with the other two by another player.

"Good. A freak of nature and two monster children. Geez, this house is a gold mine for mobs. What're we gonna find next, a nest of cave spiders?" Laughed the player that had nearly shattered the bones in Ender's wrist. Ender attempted to stand up and pick up the other two prisoners, but was apprehended harshly with a slice from a sword to his right leg. He screamed, and fell forward onto his face. "Where do you think you're going?" Asked a female player harshly. "Well, it doesn't really matter right now, does it? You won't be going anywhere for a very long time after that."

Ender was about to cry. His leg hurt so badly, he nearly passed out at the sight of the long, bloody slash across his limb. A player suddenly grabbed Creeps by the throat and lifted him up. The child was sobbing, from the fear and the pain. "I'm surprised this stupid thing hasn't exploded yet," muttered the player, then harshly dumped him back on the ground. "Oh, it can't," replied another one, smirking. "It told me itself. It just can't stay quiet."

Now they're going so far as to call us ITS?! Ender's thoughts screamed in his mind, and then he opened his mouth to say, "Creeps is a HE, not an IT."

The crowd of players seemed stunned for a moment, before they exploded into laughter. "Look at this enderman!" One of them laughed. "It thinks it can tell us what to do!"

Another one kicked Ender in the stomach. "Silence," they said harshly. One player looked at another. "Changing the subject matter, I think the boss will be pleased with this haul," they said, and all of the mob hunters murmured assent. Creeps was quivering and curled up in a ball. Ender dragged himself over to him, trailing blood from his injured leg, and laid next to him. "We'll be alright," he whispered to his friend, Creeps scooted over closer to him. "We'll find some way out of this. I promise."

Creeps continued to cry as Ender laid there. His leg was hurting with fervor now, and Creeps was way too scared to heal it. Not that he would've asked him to, anyway. These players probably would try to exploit that ability for their own gain and work the poor creeper child to death.

Ender suddenly felt himself being lifted up and carried. His vision blurred for a second, the pain in his leg was nearly unbearable. The players seemed to be carrying the three children somewhere, as he saw Creeps and Herobrine being carried by players too, but where to, he did not know. Ender somehow felt tired, but refused to sleep. Not when he was in the arms of someone who could easily kill him. "Look at this," a player said, and Ender tiredly turned his aching head in the direction of the voice he heard. "This stupid little thing fell asleep on me."

Creeps had fallen asleep in the arms of the player. It must have been because he was so tired, and he was probably used to Ender carrying him.

"Leave it be. Don't wake it up," replied the player that was carrying Ender. "It probably should get some rest. Speaking of which… sleep, enderman."

Ender was confused for a moment until he realized the player carrying him was telling him to go to sleep. He had been drifting off anyway. "You're not gonna kill me are you?" He asked, his voice faint from screaming, tiredness, and pain.

"No. At least not if you comply," the mob hunter responded. Ender, for some reason, felt a little relieved, and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

…..

Ender awoke to a sharp jab in the ribs. He nearly leapt out of his skin and released a startled cry, eyes wide. He was on a wooden bench with a heavily armored player standing next to him. "Get up. We have business to attend to," they said in a harsh, almost emotionless voice.

Ender looked around, his leg still hurt badly. He was in a small stone room with a tiny barred window. Nothing else seemed to be there.

Ender attempted to stand up, but his injured leg buckled under his weight painfully and he fell forward, only to be caught by the guard in the room.

"Hurting your leg was an awful idea on their part, enderman," the player said, again almost emotionless. Their face was pretty much blank. "Don't fret. I'll have a talk with the admins, they'll most likely have that group of Hunters punished for your harsh removal."

Ender didn't understand a single word the player had said as he was ordered to lean on them to help him walk.

He was lead to a slightly larger room made of stone bricks. He looked around feverishly. He didn't see Creeps, or even Herobrine for that matter, anywhere. His stomach started to ache, his chest was tight with worry. He was ordered to sit on a slightly cushioned bench. "D-do you kn-know where Creeps is?" Ender stuttered out nervously. He was really starting to get worried now. The player looked down at him. "Give a description. I don't know the names you monsters are given at birth," the player, who Ender determined to be a male, replied. Ender gave a short description, stuttering and stammering the whole way, as he was nervous. The player nodded. "I believe he is in a different room," he replied, the suddenly went silent and stood ramrod straight as a different player in particularly fine clothing walked past them. He suddenly gripped Ender's wrists and attached shackles, Ender struggled against the binds once the player was finished putting them on him.

The player that had walked past them began to speak. "I would like to officially welcome you to my collection," he said.

Ender was baffled. He'd heard a lot of strange things, but this was by far the weirdest.

Suddenly two more players came in, each bringing Creeps and Herobrine with them. Herobrine was struggling against chains that held his hands behind his back, and Creeps was asleep. "Sorry we're late, your greatness," one of the players apologized. "These two were a pain to get here. This little creeper had to be sedated. He wouldn't stop screaming about some enderman."

The player walked up to Ender and dumped Creeps roughly into his lap. "There. I believe this little shit belongs to you," the player snarled harshly. Ender reacted by immediately hugging the young creeper, willing him to wake up from his drug-induced slumber. Creeps remained asleep, fitfully murmuring Ender's name and twitching. There was a particularly large bruise on the side of his face. It seemed he had been struck across the face while being ordered to move. A silent tear fell down Ender's cheek. He didn't deserve this.

Creeps continued to murmur Ender's name. Ender responded by holding him close and quietly telling him, "I'm here. I'm here. It's ok, shh."

The man at the front of the room cleared his throat and began to speak once more. "As I was saying, welcome to your new place of containment. As we know, we shouldn't be letting all of you run around causing trouble. You have been picked to be contained here- as beautiful piece in my personal collection. But… there ARE a few rules if you want to… how do I say this… remain valuable. One, you must listen to what our wonderful staff and I tell you. Disobey, or even…. rebel, per chance, and we'll… I guess we will find a use for you then. We have a WONDERFUL science program that is looking for test subjects."

The man's voice was practically venomous when he said the last sentence, Ender's blood went cold and he shuddered. He held Creeps closer still, locking his eyes on this strange man. He didn't dare look away as his newest enemy explained the rest of the rules.

Suddenly Ender became quite frightened. What if he and Creeps were separated again? If Creeps started acting up, it would be game over for him, and he'd be subjected to who knows what horrible experiments in the labs.

He slowly raised a shaking hand. The man called upon him, saying, "You have a question?"

Ender nodded, composed himself, and said, "C-c-could Creeps and I… st-stay t-t-together? He… needs me… to be with him, or h-he'll cause a lot of t-t-trouble…"

"But of course!" The man replied with a kind smile. "We wouldn't want him to act up now, would we? You two being together at all times would only make my collection of monsters better. Guards, they are dismissed. Bring them to the containment area."

Ender stood up quickly, but soon fell over with a groan due to his leg. It hadn't even been patched up at all, so the scabbed over wound split back open in a spot and began to bleed. "Dear lord!" the owner the the mysterious place exclaimed. "Who did this to it?!"

Ender's guard replied, "Hunter group AB-9. The enderman was trying to flee and one Hunter had the audacity to cut its leg."

The guard helped Ender up for the second time that day. "Get someone to patch the wound up at least! Doesn't anyone know how to care for these fragile creatures!? They're like dandelion seeds, one wrong touch and they're gone!" The man screamed.

"Make sure the young creeper and the young enderman with blue eyes are not separated," the man told them. "Spread the word. If anyone separates them… I'll put them to good use. As for Hunter Group AB-9… I will deal with them myself."

One guard asked, "What are we to do with the boy?" While poking Herobrine in the face. He turned and bit their hand at once.

"Let him go with them. He was with them when they came, so they must be close somehow," the man said, waving his hand. The three were then lead away.


	9. Chapter 7

When the three were lead out, Herobrine was separated from Creeps and Ender and lead in a different direction. Ender, who was still holding a sedated Creeps, was lead down a few corridors and then put in a large room. Ender had to lean against a wall in order to stand, because his injured leg made it impossible to do so otherwise. The player who lead him there unlocked the shackles on the young enderman's wrists, then shut the door behind him.

Along with more Minecraftian guards, there were other mobs in the room as well. A skeleton sat on a bench, impatiently tapping their foot as if waiting for something. One of their arm bones were fractured slightly, Ender winced in sympathy. A different enderman who was much taller than Ender seemed to be waiting on treatment for water-induced damage. The young enderman suddenly realized he must be in the medical area for whatever this place was. Ender felt dizzy and then decided to sit down on the stone floor. Creeps suddenly stirred and awoke slowly from his sedated state. 'Ender…? Is that you…?" the little creeper asked quietly.

Ender gave no response, he was so happy that his friend was finally awake, he hugged him tightly. "Ow, OW! TOO TIGHT! YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!" Creeps yelped, but soon started laughing and snuggled close to Ender. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Ender told Creeps, by this time all of the other mobs in the room were staring at them.

Eventually the two just sat together, enjoying each other's company. Creeps was sitting on Ender's lap, being careful to avoid his injured leg. He tried healing it, but failed. "I… I can't focus, I'm sorry…" the little creeper apologized, his eyes began to fill with tears and he started to cry. "Hey, hey, it's alright," Ender told him. "We're in the medical whatever spot for a reason."

Creeps still kept on with sobbing, which worried Ender. "What's wrong?" he asked his friend. Creeps looked up at him. "I wanna go home…" he sobbed. "What if we get split up again?"

"I asked if we could stay together and they said yes. That won't happen ever again. And if it does, I'll make sure I find you. No matter how much trouble I get into," Ender reassured him. Creeps sniffed and looked up at him. "You promise?" he asked, staring at him intensely with sparkling eyes. "I promise," Ender said, pulling him into a hug.

Suddenly the two looked up to see a nurse reaching out her hand to them. "Grab my hand, please. We're going to go fix up that leg of yours."

Ender looked around before grabbing her hand. The mobs he had seen before were gone, replaced with new ones. Ender set Creeps down and started leaning on the nurse, she had to help him walk to the room where he'd be treated. Creeps followed close behind.

Once they got to the room they were supposed to, the nurse had Ender lay down on a couch covered in plastic. "That cut is pretty deep. We're going to have to stitch it up. This may hurt a little."

"A little" was an understatement, at least in Ender's opinion. He had to grit his teeth to keep from screaming. He could hear Creeps yelling at the nurse to stop, so Ender's discomfort must have been quite visible.

"STOP! STOP! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" Creeps shrieked, as the procedure was nearing its end. The nurse didn't respond and Creeps tried to stop her himself, but was shoved off to the side gently with the reassurance that this would help him in the long run.

When the stitching process was over, the nurse wrapped Ender's leg in bandages and had him try to stand. He still couldn't put much weight on it without falling over, so the nurse had to help him out with walking again. When they came out, a few guards were waiting for them. They grabbed Ender's arm and helped him walk as well, leading him and Creeps to a much different area.

"This wing is where you'll be staying with the creeper child, enderman. The boss could visit you at anytime, so be on your best behavior at all points during your lives here. You two are now part of his collection. Some others will be here to help you settle in and get more comfortable."

Ender gave him the guard who spoke a confused look as he was forced to sit down in a chair. Creeps sat on the floor next to Ender's chair for a bit, then clambered onto his lap and stared at their captors intently, to which one of the guards said, "Careful, young creeper, your friend's leg is still injured." Creeps replied with a slightly annoyed, "I know."

The guards left a little bit afterwards and the two finally got to look around. The room they were in looked nice, with walls made out of a peculiar blue stone, Ender figured that it may have been lapis lazuli, but he wasn't sure, and the floor had nice, neat blue carpeting on it. Creeps jumped down from Ender's lap to take a look around. "Look at the bed!" He squealed, delighted, at the bed covered in soft looking blankets, which he struggled to climb up and jump on. "It's like a trampoline! And the blankets are SO soft!" Creeps yelled happily. Ender closed his eyes and lazily slouched in his chair. He wasn't used to being bossed around and being under so much pressure to behave himself.

Suddenly a few more players walked in. They said nothing as they searched the room thoroughly, as if looking for something, then began to clean it. Ender opened his eyes and watched. One of them wordlessly snatched Creeps off of the bed and then put him on Ender's lap.

When they were finished, the room was practically spotless, with nothing but furniture decorating the inside. They left quickly, except for one who stayed for a slightly longer time to say, "The collector will be here to see you shortly. You best calm down, creeper child," the female who stayed said quietly, then reached out to pat his head. She was stopped by another who grabbed her hand and said, "No! You're not allowed to touch them, remember?! Only the collector may handle the pieces in his collection!"

She froze, then said, "I'm sorry… It's just… this one reminds me so much of…"

She fell silent for a bit, then said, "I will pertain to orders," in a flat, monotonous voice, then left with the other Minecraftian.

Creeps and Ender were left in the room in silent confusion for about five minutes before they heard the door opened, revealing the man that had talked to them earlier.

He greeted them with a warm smile, said hello in a friendly manner, then shut the door.

"I'm glad to see that the young creeper is awake," he said, trying to strike up a conversation with what he saw as his newest collector's items. Creeps whimpered and snuggled close to Ender, frightened. "No need to be scared, young one," the man said in a soothing tone. "I just want to talk."

He pulled up another chair and sat in front of the two. "So, I heard you have a special type of ability, young enderman," he said. "Something involving water?"

Ender jolted upright and smacked the back of his head on the chair. "Ow! Um… y-yes…?" Ender stuttered nervously, avoiding eye contact with the near-stranger.

"I would like to see it."

Ender looked up. "What?" he asked, not sure if he had heard his captor correctly.

"I would like to see your power in action," the man commanded flatly. "Show me."

Ender froze for a bit, then picked Creeps up and set him down on the floor, rising out of his chair, but still holding onto it with one hand to help him balance. He closed his eyes. _Think of it like you're practicing,_ he told himself.

A perfect sphere of water formed, floating just above the palm of his hand. It suddenly transformed into his blade, which he didn't mean for it to do. It scared him so much he dropped the newly formed object onto the floor, where it dissipated into plain water and splashed out everywhere.

The man clapped. "Impressive. I also heard that you can launch icicles as well. I heard you injured one of my Hunters with that ability."

Creeps quickly replied, "We're sorry! He didn't mean to hurt him, he was scared and I got hurt, so he tried to help me!"

The man simply locked eyes on him. Creeps practically shrunk with fear, suddenly starting to shake. They had a staredown in silence for about five minutes, Ender was increasingly fearful, filled to the brim with questions. The man simply got up and walked across the room to the door before saying, "It is alright. But pull a stunt like that here, and the scientists will not have to look for more test subjects."

He left without another word, leaving the children in their room in fear. Creeps jumped at Ender and clung to him, shaking. "He wouldn't stop staring at me," he squeaked. "I was so scared he'd hurt us. It looked like he wanted to…"

"It's ok, Creeps," Ender responded, trying hard to comfort him. "It's ok. We will find a way to get out of this."

"That's what you said when your leg got cut open yesterday," Creeps whimpered, starting to cry. "I just wanna go home… this place looks nice, but it isn't safe…"

"I know, I know," Ender replied, holding him tightly, trying to calm him. "Please, just relax… I'm worried, too, but it's unsafe to try anything…"

"Have you tried teleporting?" Creeps asked, nudging Ender urgently.

"You'd be better off not trying," a voice said to them from nearby.

Ender jumped and turned around to see the cleaning lady that had tried to pet Creeps's head earlier. "The collector has made sure that what goes in cannot come out. Around this compound is a shield that allows people to walk through, but stops teleportation. If you try teleporting, it will stop you and you may end up fried to a crisp. Many endermen have tried and ended up dying as a result."

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Ender stuttered, staring at her in disbelief.

"I was sent to give you food," she said, then rushed out the door quickly to get their food. As the two ate, she stared and watched them.

After they had eaten and she left, the two simply sat around and stared out the window. "I'm bored," Creeps complained, gazing out the window at a lavish garden surrounded by a large glass dome. Ender had been staring at it too, wondering what it could be for, before Creeps had complained.

"Me too," Ender replied. "Does this guy really expect us to just be fine and sit here for the rest of our lives?"

Creeps clambered onto the bed and started jumping on it for about five minutes before collapsing onto it tiredly. Ender limped over to the bed, in those five minutes he had been practicing at walking with his injured leg, and sat on the edge of it. Creeps sat next to him and leaned on him. "I'm just glad we didn't get split up again," he said quietly, as Ender wrapped an arm around him. "I wouldn't be able to stand it."

"Me either," Ender shifted his weight to get more comfortable before continuing, "I'd never know if you were safe or not."

"You don't need to worry about me so much," Creeps yawned tiredly. Ender poked the little creeper in the ribs before saying, "I know, I just don't want you going off and dying somewhere without telling me first." and Creeps laughed a little.

Ender scooted up onto the bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling with his hands folded over his stomach. Creeps joined him, snuggled close to his side, eyes closed. Eventually the two fell asleep for a few hours.

When Ender awoke, the windows were dark and it was late. All of the lights in the room except one, a table lamp by their bed, had been turned off. Most miraculously, however, the two had been tucked into bed while they were asleep. Creeps was still beside him, sleeping soundly, tucked into bed with perfect precision and delicateness. Ender, too, was tucked in this way. Ender didn't even want to move. The bed was warm and soft, made ten hundred times more comfortable to him by the fact that Creeps was safely sleeping next to him.

Ender looked over at the small bedside table to see a glass of water, most likely for Creeps, and a booklet. After inspecting the book and quickly skimming through the pages, he realized that it was a rulebook. A carefully laid out guide to their daily schedules and the rules for living there. Ender was still tired, so much so that he laid back down and turned the table lamp off instead of reading the booklet.

Ender turned towards Creeps. The young creeper was sleeping peacefully, the sound of his breathing barely noticeable. Ender turned so that he was laying on his back again and stared into the darkness of the room. This place, wherever it was, may have been a comfortable one, but from what he had seen that day, it wasn't a safe one. The pain in his injured leg was currently reminding him of how he had gotten here in the first place. His mind wandered and he started to wonder about Herobrine, they had been separated earlier, and Steve, who was still at their home, which was probably burnt to ashes by this point. Where were they? More importantly, HOW were they? Questions were racing through Ender's mind, tiring him further. Eventually, he thought nothing of it and drew Creeps closer to him, then fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 8

Ender awoke slowly that morning. For about an hour he was half asleep before he actually awoke. When he did fully awaken, he realized that Creeps had scooted closer to him and had snuggled close to him. As of now, the little creeper was asleep still. Ender, now knowing where Creeps was, mostly because Creeps had decided at some point in the night to use his chest as a pillow, felt relaxed and started to drift off again.

At least until the door suddenly opened, scaring the living daylights out of the young enderman. Creeps awoke with a start, then snuggled close to him.

"Get up, you two," a voice commanded them. The voice came from a player standing just outside the door to their room. "You must be fed."

Ender sat up slowly, Creeps had turned around and buried his face in a blanket. Ender had to practically pry the other child off of the bed just to leave.

They were lead down the hall and into a large room filled with tables, and hundreds upon hundreds of other monsters such as themselves. Creeps's eyes widened in amazement, before they were told to sit by the player that had taken them there. After they sat down, Ender scanned the crowd quietly, searching for Herobrine. He saw him at a far off table, whispering to a group of mobs. Ender presently wondered what they were talking about.

After they had eaten, every mob in the area was sent to a different room, large enough that every one of them had adequate room to move around. "This place is HUGE," Creeps whispered to Ender, who laughed in response. They ended up being stuck in that room for a while. Ender sat against a wall, his injured leg still made it hard for him to stand up for long periods of time. Creeps climbed onto his lap and sat there, closing his eyes. "Still tired?" Ender asked him, poking the child in the ribs. Creeps nodded, eyes still closed. Ender began to look around for Herobrine, who eventually found the two.

"Hey, Ender, how's your leg?" the white-eyed Minecraftian asked as he sat next to them. "Better than it was," Ender replied, Creeps suddenly jumped and opened his eyes. "You scared me!" he said to Herobrine, who laughed loudly in response. "Geez, sorry. Didn't know that creepers were so easily startled," he snickered. Creeps looked away, slightly angered.

Herobrine then said, "Oh, by the way, I made some new friends while we've been stuck here. Come on, I'll introduce them to you."

Ender started to have a strange feeling that this wasn't just a normal group of friends.

Herobrine simply dragged him over there, said, "Hey, guys, these two are with us now," and then they all sat on the floor so Ender wouldn't have to stand on his sore leg.

"Man, those Hunters really screwed you up, didn't they?" remarked one of the mobs in the group, a skeleton. Ender nodded shyly, avoiding eye contact.

Another enderman was looking at him curiously. "You kind of look familiar…" the other enderman said, continuing to stare at Ender, which made him feel uncomfortable. Ender said nothing, hoping that then stranger wouldn't recognize that he had indeed killed someone.

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" a very short, female Wither Skeleton asked Herobrine.

A small grin suddenly spread into a wide smile on Herobrine's face. "Simple," he said. "We're going to break out of this dump."

Most of the group wholeheartedly agreed, while Ender and Creeps were lost in shocked silence. "You mean… Like… Escape?" Creeps asked, staring at the white-eyed player with a look of curiosity and wonder.

Herobrine nodded. "Exactly," he said, still smiling.

"Wh-what happens when w-we get c-c-caught?" Ender stuttered.

"Not 'when', you negative piece of crap," Herobrine stated, lightly thwacking Ender in the back of the head. "It's 'if'. And IF we get caught? If any of you get caught, fight like you mean it. I'm serious."

"And WHY are we listening to a child?" the skeleton from earlier muttered. Herobrine simply glared at him and said, "Alright, fine. You want to do this by yourself? Go right ahead."

That managed to shut him up for a while.

"W-we need some sort of p-plan," Ender said, getting kind of annoyed with himself because he was stuttering so much.

"Screw planning!" screamed a nearby creeper. "I want OUT! WHO'S WITH ME?!"

All of the other mobs in the room, and some guards as well, turned to stare at the group.

"Uh oh," Creeps whimpered. Ender tightened his grip on the little creeper as guards started to close in on the group.

"Nice going, Carson!" the skeleton from before bellowed, slapping the other creeper in the face. "Now we're done for!"

Herobrine leapt up and tackled the closest guard with an enraged scream, fighting for all he was worth. Ender raised a hand, summoned a ball of water…. Then promptly blew a huge hole through several walls. Alarms were blaring, and mobs were screaming and running towards freedom.

Ender grabbed Herobrine by the wrist as soon as he was about to land another punch to the guard's face.

"We're leaving, he said bluntly, then hoisted Herobrine to his feet and started running as fast as his one good leg could take him.

"Ender, your leg! What about the-" Creeps screamed over the loud resonance of shouting voices, Ender reassured him with a "We'll take care of it later"

The young enderman suddenly got hit by someone hard and fell forward. Turns out a guard had caught up to the two of them and hit Ender in the back of the head with the handle of his sword. Creeps flew out of his arms as Ender fell and slid across the cement floor, getting several cuts and scrapes in the process.

Ender's head was pounding with pain, and the determination to escape. The guard angrily kicked Ender in the face as he lay there, Creeps screamed for him to get up and keep running, worried.

Ender stood. Summoning a few icicles, he trapped his assailant by pinning him to a nearby wall, then kept running, scooping up Creeps.

He was jerked back suddenly by another guard, who then threw him onto the ground roughly. Ender landed on his back hard, feeling his breath being forcefully knocked out of his lungs, and before he knew it, there was a sword bring aimed at his throat.

"You WILL stand down, enderman," snarled the guard fiercely, eyes narrowing at the young creeper in his arms. Ender's head ached, but he knew that he wanted,no, _needed_ to escape.

Ender kneed the new challenger where it hurt, then rolled out from underneath them and hurled himself upright, bounding over pieces of stone bricks, chunks of wood, and other debris from the blown-open walls. He saw daylight.

"We're… Almost there," he said to Creeps, who was clinging to him for dear life. "We're… Almost… Out…."

That's when it happened.

Something struck his ribs so hard that he felt something snap. A sharp pain resonated from the area as he fell with a strangled cry, landing face first as Creeps was flung from his arms a second time. Ender could hardly breathe after he fell to the floor. Every breath felt like torture.

Ender looked up and gasped.

The mysterious collector himself stood above him, wearing an intimidating set of iron gloves, his brown hair messy and his signature tuxedo dirtied with blood.

"Well, look who we have here," the man said, giving Ender a cold look that made him feel a pang of guilt. No… Sorrow. That he had basically failed. Failed to get Creeps out of such an unsafe environment, failed to allow the young creeper child to see sunlight again. The man suddenly kicked the young enderman in the side once more, another snap of what Ender assumed to be a rib breaking. Ender tried to call for help, but the pain was too great. His voice would not come out. Ender coughed, heaving up a dark, scarlet red liquid.

Blood.

"Such a shame," the man continued as Ender stared at his blood-covered hand in shock. "You and the creeper child were two of my favorite pieces in my collection."

"You…. Promised…"

Ender's voice was weak, raspy. But the hurt in his voice was clear as day. "You promised you… Wouldn't… Hurt… H-him…"

Ender coughed hard, heaving up more blood.

"You promised your compliance in return. And what have you done instead? Blown holes through the walls of my precious fortress. Fought off the guards that fed you, cared for you. Caused all of the pieces in my collection to betray me, their true master. Now… You will pay the price…"

The man raised a foot to crush Ender's skull, but suddenly a screaming blur tackled him to the floor, snarling with rage.

It was Herobrine.

White eyes ablaze in the poor lighting of the breached compound, dark, inky fluid flowing from them. The man didn't even really seem all that fazed by his efforts, he grabbed the boy by the wrist and threw him off of himself, sending Herobrine tumbling onto the debris covered floor.

"You as well?" asked the collector, calmly stepping over chunks of wood and stone to reach Herobrine. "Pity. I had quite the liking for you as well. A white eyed Minecraftian is a rare find indeed."

Ender was slowly trying to stand. _I can't let Creeps be trapped here anymore. I have to get out. WE have to get out._

He suddenly heard Creeps's voice.

His head automatically turned to see Creeps shakily standing, calling for help. For anyone's help.

Ender suddenly felt a foot being placed on his back, holding him to the floor.

"Ender was your name, yes?"

The man's voice came from above him. His foot moved to Ender's side and flipped him over so that their eyes met. Dark brown eyes seemed to bore into Ender's soul. His vision blurred dangerously.

"Not that it matters now. I wonder what I should do now… Kill you, and make your little friends watch?"

With a wave of his gloved hand, guards suddenly walked into Ender's field of view. Two holding a very battered Herobrine back by the wrists, and one holding Creeps in a headlock.

"Or, should one of them die first? The creeper child, maybe?"

The guard holding Creeps tightened his hold on the young creeper's neck. Creeps cried out in protest, and worry for Ender and Herobrine, who both by this time were a bloody mess.

Something in Ender gave way as soon as he heard Creeps fearfully scream.

His restraint.

No longer would he lay there and watch as people died all around him. Especially not Creeps.

Ender flung himself up onto his feet, a guttural scream wrenched itself free from his throat as he summoned his blade and shield, attacking.

 _No mercy. Not for someone who thinks of me and my friends as objects._

He forgot about the pain from his most likely broken ribs. The stitches in his injured leg popped open but he didn't care. He flung himself at his new worst enemy and started attacking over and over, blocking all of except for a few counterattacks with his shield.

He suddenly received a hard blow to the temple, he saw stars as he hit the floor. His feeling of pain returned, so intensely that he tried to cry out. Nothing came out.

As for his opponent, he was covered in deep cuts and stab wounds, and one of his arms had dislocated and was dangling free from its socket. The man that had imprisoned the three children was swaying, most likely due to blood loss and shock.

Ender still stood, despite a having a pounding headache, among other worse injuries. He blindly felt for Creeps, who clambered up into Ender's arms.

He took off running, bounding through holes in the walls until he was once again outdoors. The cool, fresh air stopped Ender like a brick wall.

Ender fell, releasing Creeps. Creeps fell hard onto the grass, with a small "oof" that would have been more comedic in a less tense situation than the one they were currently in.

Ender gasped for air, but it was quickly being denied to him from the stabbing, sharp pains in his chest. He struggled to breathe. Every breath, every small twitch of a muscle brought nothing but pain. He felt as his chest, the blood from his wounds made his hands slick.

He could hear Creeps sobbing, trying to heal him, but not being able to focus enough to do it. Ender eventually noticed that Creeps had given up, settling for cuddling up next to him, crying. Everything reeked of blood.

 _I'm dying,_ Ender realized. _I might not ever get to see the sky, or the moon, or anything ever again. This is it._

He felt lightheaded and nauseous. The world spun and swayed in front of him.

Then everything went black.


	11. Chapter 9

When Ender awoke, he was nearly blinded by the bright white walls of the room he was in. Great. Now his eyes hurt on top of everything else.

His ribs ached badly. Ender quickly put a hand to his chest instinctively to check for any broken bones, but stopped when he felt bandages.

With a tired, pained moan Ender tried to sit up to figure out where he was, having his mind clouded by pain and exhaustion didn't help very much. He turned to see that there was some sort of tube hooked into his arm, at this point he was in so much pain from everything else that he didn't seem to care. Ender slowly closed his heavy eyelids once more, then suddenly remembered:

Creeps and Herobrine.

He bolted upright quickly, then immediately regretted his decision after a sharp pain tore through his chest. He cried out, then laid back down again, clutching at his ribs.

Suddenly a nurse walked in and started to write some things down on a clipboard, seemingly ignoring her patient before she looked up and their eyes met. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Everything… h-hurts…" Ender stuttered with a groan, indicating his ribs with his hand.

"I bet it does, sweetheart," the nurse said. "You were about almost dead when we found you. Your friends were greatly worried. A little boy with white eyes and a creeper child."

"You.. know… Creeps? Where is he?" Ender gasped out, his ribs hurt too badly for him to be able to talk fast. "In the next room, recovering," the nurse replied, jotting a few more things down on her clipboard. "Poor thing. He was badly hurt as well. But don't worry, he should be alright now."

Hearing the news, Ender smiled slightly. Creeps was ok. "What about Herobrine?"

The nurse's face fell slightly upon hearing his name. "Not so well. Many of the members of our staff have refused to treat him. They keep saying something about his eyes meaning bad fortune. Luckily a few of us are still willing to heal him up."

Ender breathed a sigh of relief, then regret it due to the pain it caused his ribs.

"We were able to set those broken ribs of yours while you were unconscious. How badly does it hurt?"

"A lot," Ender groaned, laying back down again fully. "When can we leave?"

The nurse laughed. "Impatient, are we? You should be up and ready soon if we use a healing potion or two. Problem is, we're low on supplies. It may take a while to make them, so you may have to wait this out."

Ender groaned. He didn't want to be stuck in a bed all day, but apparently that's was his only option. Ten minutes of being awake, and he was already bored out of his mind, especially with all of the action that had been going on before he blacked out.

"Is there… a way you could… bring Creeps in here…?" Ender said slowly, trying to spare himself any more pain. "So I… can talk… t-to him…"

The nurse nodded slowly, then left the room quickly. She was back soon with the little creeper, who was probably about eighty percent bandages by Ender's estimate upon first sight, cradled carefully in her arms. She laid him on the bed next to Ender. "Careful, he's still asleep. He was awake earlier, and all he would ask were questions about you. Where you were, if you were okay, things like that," the nurse said, giving the sleeping creeper child a gentle pat on the head.

"I'm right here," Ender said softly to his sleeping friend, cradling him in his arms as if he was an infant. "You don't have to… worry about me…. anymore."

Creeps twitched in his sleep, apparently hearing what Ender had to say, and his muscles relaxed greatly. Ender gave a gentle smile, glad that they were together and free at last.

Creeps stirred and woke up, and a small little smile appeared on his face. "Hi," he said tiredly, then snuggled with Ender. Ender snickered, even though it hurt to do so, and responded back with, "Hey."

Creeps laughed and snuggled close to him, rubbing his face against his.

Ender started laughing as well, forgetting about the pain in his ribs until a little later, when he flinched and laid back down, staring at the ceiling. Creeps looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?" He asked, slightly tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy. Ender gestured to his ribs with his free hand, as the other was gently wrapped around Creeps to keep him close, and said, "Ribs… h-hurt…"

Creeps snuggled close, which relaxed Ender. He wasn't in good enough shape to heal him, but his presence made it feel ten times better anyway. Ender gave him a hug. The nurse seemed positively awed by their closeness.

"Well, I'm certainly glad that I brought him in here now," she said, smiling. "You two are very close."

Ender ignored her. He was too busy being glad that he and Creeps were alive. Their escape had brought a close call for both of them. If Ender had blacked out a moment sooner than he did, they may have been recaptured. Creeps's voice was softer than usual when he said, "I was so scared… I thought you… left."

Ender knew what he meant by that. He had been terrified that he was about to die at that point, and for all he knew, he could have. He knew he was alive now, of course, with Creeps close by him.

"Me, too," Ender said, giving Creeps another little hug to reassure him. "We both could've."

A door suddenly opened, and a young, female voice said, "I got the supplies, miss!"

The source of the voice was revealed to be a small girl with orange hair. She set her armful of supplies she had gathered and then stared at the two young mobs with curiosity. "You said Herobrine was here…" she said in a confused tone.

"My bad, Alex. He's in the next room. These are some of the friends he made."

The girl, Alex, stared at them for a long time after that. "Friends…?"

Creeps stared at her, too, as if to retaliate. Alex grinned. "The creeper's such a cutie," she said. Ender averted his gaze, saying, "Uh… y-yeah…"

Alex was startled for a second, probably not expecting him to say anything.

"You speak English… I thought endermen couldn't do that…" she said quietly, brushing her orangish hair out of her face and finger combing it compulsively. Ender nodded, silent. Creeps smiled at her. "Hi!" He said, sounding much better than he had been. Alex smiled at him, then left, presumably to go to the other room to see how Herobrine was.

Ender laid there as if he were paralyzed, staring at the ceiling. His ribs hurt, and he didn't feel like moving all that much. Although, he was curious as to how Herobrine was doing. He hadn't even seen him since before he blacked out.

Ender sat up, looked to make sure the nurse was watching, slid off of the bed, and stood. He nearly fell, dark edges creeping around his vision, threatening to knock him out again. But he stood, finally. He internally breathed a sigh of relief. Creeps stared at him curiously. "Where are you going?" The little creeper asked, scooting to the edge of the bed. Some of the bandages that were wrapped around his legs were starting to come loose. Ender guessed that the medical staff probably rushed on the job, trying to keep him alive.

Ender, not wanting to leave Creeps behind alone, especially with what had happened earlier, picked him up and said, "Somewhere. You're coming with, too."

The young enderman made his way out of the room, despite protests from the nurse that he ought to stay in bed. He saw his reflection out of the corner of his eye on a mirrored wall, which startled him for a second. He could now see the full damage that their escape had given him and Creeps. There was a deep cut on the side of his own face that he didn't even notice, Creeps, despite being almost swaddled in bandages, had a few cuts and scrapes still visible underneath the peeling white strips of fabric. Ender's damaged leg was wrapped in bandages, which were tinged red with his blood. His torso was wrapped in bandages as well, most likely to keep his ribs in place while they healed. One of Creeps's eyes was nearly swollen shut, he also had the day old bruise in his cheek from when they still thought they would be stuck in the compound forever.

Ender also noted the dark bruises forming on his own skin. He shuddered a little bit. When Creeps asked him what was the matter, he simply said that he was cold to spare him any more worry. He was cold anyway, and almost scared what Herobrine would look like.

He quietly opened the door to Herobrine's room, and his heart sank. His friend was also swathed from head to toe in bandages, and he was still unconscious as well. Alex, the girl he had met earlier, was sitting at the side of the bed, staring at him.

Ender's knees buckled for a second and he nearly fell, but gripped the doorframe just in time while still managing to keep a hold on Creeps. This startled Alex out of her trance, and she stared at him. "What're you doing here?" She said, narrowing her green eyes at him.

"I just came to see how he was doing," the blue eyed enderman said in response, deciding to sit on the floor instead of taking the risk of falling over again. The small creeper in his arms blinked in surprise at her hostility. Alex seemed distressed that Herobrine was hurt.

Herobrine suddenly stirred and woke up. "Alex? What're you doing here? Where's Steve?" He asked, then noticed the two mobs sitting on the floor. "I know why you guys are here."

Alex's smile fell as soon as Steve's name was mentioned. "I don't know…" the girl said plainly, a worried tone to her voice. "I haven't seen him since your house burned down."

Herobrine looked even more concerned now. "We have to go find him. I think he ran off to the woods. He always does that when he gets scared."

Ender nodded. "Maybe the healing potions are done now? The nurse that was taking care of me said something about using healing potions on us."

Herobrine frowned a bit. "They better. Steve's lost and he needs us to find him."

Creeps simply looked confused about the entire thing. Ender felt terrible for forgetting about Steve in the first place. The poor kid was probably starving to death as they spoke.

Another nurse suddenly walked in and checked up on Herobrine. They seemed fine with the two mob children sitting on the floor at first, until they spotted Creeps.

"Get that walking time bomb out of here!" They shrieked, pointing at the little creeper with the pen they were using to write on their clipboard. Creeps simply stared in confusion. "Wh- what?" Creeps asked, his voice quiet.

"Out, you little devil! Get out!" They screamed, trying to pluck Creeps from Ender's arms. Ender held fast and stared him in the eyes angrily. "You're going to have to kick me out, too, if Creeps can't stay here. He can't even explode at all," Ender said. "You're just being mean."

"Fine then. Shoo. This hospital doesn't need to care for mob pests like you," they said.

Ender stood and was about to leave, before Herobrine said, "Me too. If they go, I GO."

Noticing Herobrine's white eyes for the first time, they stepped back and opened up the door. "You give bad luck anyway. Scram. All three of you."

Alex suddenly spoke. "Guess I found one more person I won't give supplies to. I'm going to have to tell my mom about this," she said icily.

The nurse frowned. They stood, feet firmly planted on the ground, hands holding the door open, for about five minutes. It was almost amusing to Ender. Creeps simply stared and started to cry a little. "B-but…. I didn't do anything…. why are you being so mean…?"

Ender tried to soothe him. "Creeps, it's ok. I'll deal with this guy."

Ender stepped closer to the person in question. "I did NOT bust out of a literal PRISON just to deal with a jerk like you. Creeps has been through enough without you being a huge turd. Stop."

"All three of you are disgracing this establishment with your presence-" they started, but were then cut off by somebody shouting, "ENOUGH!"

Everyone in the room, Ender included, turned to see the nurse that had been caring for him standing in the doorway, with her arms crossed.

The other nurse froze. He had been caught red handed. Ender could feel a small grin creeping across his face, but forced himself to suppress it as to not damage his reputation further.

"What is this that I'm hearing about denying these poor children medical care because of their species?" Ender's caretaker said coldly, staring bullets into the other nurse.

"I… um…" he started, but was interrupted by the other nurse saying, "How would YOU like it if a mob refused to help YOUR CHILD when they were injured because they were human? Think on that for a bit… Now. YOU get out. I'm going to have a word with the boss about this."

The other nurse sulkily left the room. Ender heaved a sigh of relief and then winced from the pain in his ribs again.

"Why was he… why was he so MEAN to me…? I didn't even do anything…" Creeps sniffed. Ender wiped the tears away from Creeps's eyes with his hands, which he used to do and often it calmed Creeps down for some reason. "Don't think too much about it," the enderman said, giving the little creeper a hug. The nurse crouched and patted Creeps on the head. "Sorry about that, little one," she said, her voice soft and soothing. "He can be a bit of a…. rude person," she said. "In the meantime, your healing potions should be about ready…"

Herobrine suddenly interrupted, asking, "How long have we been asleep?"

The nurse paused, probably counting in her head, at least that's what Ender thought she was doing, and responded, "About three days now."

 _Three DAYS?!_ Ender thought, his eyes went wide. Herobrine vocalized his thoughts exactly. The nurse laughed a bit. "Yes, well, we had a hard time patching you three up after finding you like that… it's natural for someone who was hurt that badly to be unconscious for a while."

Creeps simply stared at her with a confused look on his face. The nurse quickly left and then came back in with three bottles of healing potions about the size of her own fists. Ender stared in awe. "We have to drink ALL of that?" Creeps asked, the nurse nodded and handed them each a bottle respectively. "Let's hope I did this right…" the nurse said, looking a bit nervous. "Looks like it to me," Alex replied. "My mom brews potions all the time. When she makes healing potions, they look just like that."

Herobrine practically chugged the contents of his bottle in less than five seconds. It took Ender a while to finish his, he had to keep taking breaks. Whenever he took a drink, his ribs felt tingly and he didn't like it. Afterwards he helped Creeps drink his own. He also had to take breaks, telling Ender to stop every once in awhile do he could get adjusted to having his body back in order.

After that, the nurse sent them off and wished them a good day.

"Well, now what?" Ender asked, looking around confusedly. Herobrine looked determined.

"Now? We go find Steve," he said simply.


	12. Chapter 10

The four children were now standing outside of the hospital with no idea where to go.

"And how exactly are we going to find Steve if we don't even know where we are?" Ender asked, keeping a close eye on Creeps, who was running around.

"Actually, I know where we are," Herobrine said, looking around. "I've been here once. I broke my leg during elytra training and then I got healed here."

"We should probably try to find my house then," Alex observed. 'My house is pretty close to the woods where Steve goes a lot."

The children wholeheartedly agreed. They began the search for Alex's house. It proved to be a tougher task than any of them expected. Alex, in the short period she had been there, had forgotten the way home, and Herobrine's memory was quite flawed. Even Ender, as calm and level headed as he usually was, was starting to get impatient with the two Minecraftians.

Finally, after a few hours of searching, they found Alex's house, where an orange haired lady was waiting on the porch, arms crossed.

"Where have you been, young lady?" The woman said, scolding Alex. "It should not take you three hours just to get back here."

"Sorry mom," Alex replied. "I got lost."

Ender simply stood there in silence, not feeling as though he could trust this woman. Most likely because of how angry she looked. Alex finger-combed her hair nervously. Creeps was standing next to him, looking up at him. Ender patted his head softly, keeping an eye on Alex's mother.

"We've got to go look for Steve," Alex continued. "He got himself lost after the house fire."

Alex's mother sighed defeatedly. "Alright. You may go look for him. Just don't get yourself lost too, alright?"

Alex nodded, then lead the motley crew of children to the edge of the woods. Different types of trees stuck up everywhere, making a thick mat of leaves above them as they walked in. It was dark in the forest, even Ender was struggling to see. He felt around to Creeps and picked him up, worrying that something or someone might jump out and attack him.

"Try to look for buildings…. sometimes Steve will build stuff. He might've built a house," Herobrine said, looking around. Ender looked around as well.

They all looked for hours, then finally found Steve in a tree, picking apples.

Steve suddenly noticed them. "Oh! Herobrine!" Steve called from the tree, then dropped down from the tree in front of them. "You're ok!"

Herobrine nodded. "I'm fine. I got pretty beat up though. Ender and Creeps did, too. Ender even broke a couple ribs."

Steve nodded. "You all look ok now, though," he said. "Hi Alex."

Alex waved in response. "Hey, Steve," she said back to him.

Steve's face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Oh! I almost forgot. I made a new house while I was here and you guys were…. um… where were you?"

Ender nearly cringed at the recent memories, but ignored the urge and simply said, "It… doesn't matter… let's go see the new house…"

So the children went, and their jaws nearly dropped when they saw what Steve had made. It was a fairly large house, made of birch wood planks, it even had simple windows and a working door, and, once they got inside that is, a few handmade pieces of furniture.

"Holy crap," Herobrine commented, staring at the walls. "This is awesome."

Steve nodded sheepishly, smiling a little. "I wanna live here!" Creeps crowed, his eyes moving from window to window.

"We just might," Ender said. Everyone, Creeps included, turned to stare at him. Ender, in turn, aimed his gaze at the floor. "We don't really have anywhere else to stay…"

Steve nodded. "I guess we are. Anybody hungry? I've got a bunch of food…"

Alex quite literally raised her hand in response, and Steve threw her an apple. Herobrine looked around. "It wouldn't kill us to spice this place up a little before we just live here out of nowhere, though…" he said. "We should go see if anything survived the fire."

Everyone agreed, and they left the forest to go search for the remains of their previous home.

When they got there, Ender's heart sank. In place of the house was a large pile of rubble and ashes.

"Well, this doesn't look good," Herobrine said shortly. Ender nodded gravely. He suddenly saw something glistening in the sunlight. When he went to investigate, his heart about stopped.

His mother's necklace.

He had completely forgotten about it. And here it was, sitting in the ashes of the false promise of the old home. The broken chain had melted slightly from the heat of the fire, but other than that, it was completely fine. Ender tentatively picked up the necklace with one hand, studying the black and purple stone pendant, remembering how he had gotten here in the first place. Then realized…

 _Two. Now I've killed two people. That guy that I fought earlier… he's probably dead._

His head spun, he gripped the necklace hard as this realization came to him. He steadied himself, trying hard not to faint and therefore concern the others. Then he continued the search, finding nothing.

They all returned to the little house with the things they had found. Which, when Ender noticed, was basically nothing. Herobrine had found a half-melted plastic spoon and insisted he take it with him because, in his words, "it looks cool." Steve had found something a bit more useful, an iron pickaxe. Creeps had found a box of melted crayons, which basically looked like a block of rainbow wax at that point.

Steve contemplated over the items, then said, "hmm. We don't really have much to start with. We'll get more stuff later. For now… I guess we'll just have to live with what we've got."

After that, Alex returned home, and the four boys were left alone in the nearly empty house.


	13. Chapter 11

They had now been living in the house in the woods for three years. Ender, now thirteen years old, was sitting on the couch they managed to cobble together in their home. The house was fuller now, it had more furniture, such as a furnace, tables and chairs, and the couch on which he now sat, and was decorated more than it was when they first moved in. Ender sighed and leaned back on the couch, taking a much needed break from the new duties himself and the other boys had assumed as a group: fighting off basic intruders, such as bandits, robbers, and other such criminals.

They all called themselves the Heroes of the Dawn, as Steve figured they

needed a name to tell people after they fought off whoever was troubling them. So before they had came up with this name in particular, they all came up with a name and they voted on it, with the Heroes of the Dawn being the clear winner out of names such as "Destroyers of Villains and Wreckers of Your Shit," from Herobrine, as he had just discovered the wonders of profanity and now used quite the selection of curse words fairly often, and "Heroes of Minecraftia," from Steve himself, being shot down by the group for being too vague, and probably already being taken.

As of now, the group was surviving just fine on their own, with Steve being in charge of mining and gathering resources, such as food, Ender being in charge of most of the whereabouts of the boys as a whole, since he was the eldest and smartest of them, Herobrine being in charge of fighting off any threats, as he was quite good at fighting, better than most of them, and Creeps being in charge of healing injuries and watching over the house while the others were away. All of them were home now, however, free from the duties of fighting for a while. The job paid quite well, as people were usually inclined to pay the young heroes for helping them.

Ender looked down at Creeps, who was now aged ten, playing with a few sticks he had picked up a few days prior. Weirdly enough, he seemed about as intrigued with this odd little game he was playing as a normal child playing with toys. Ender simply watched, not really caring that he was in the middle of reading the same book for the fifth time that week. Ender just stared and watched, wondering how Creeps was getting so much entertainment out of a couple of sticks and acorns. Every once and awhile Creeps would pick up one of the acorns, run to the table, set it there and run back and play with the sticks again. By the time Ender went back to reading, there were about ten acorns lined up in a neat little row on the wooden dining table. Steve, now twelve, was busying himself by sorting out resources into different chests, and Herobrine, also twelve, was staring at Creeps with the most confused expression Ender had ever seen on his face.

Suddenly there was a knock in their door, and the boys broke into an argument over who should answer it.

"Steve, you do it," Herobrine said, staring at Creeps playing his weird little game with the sticks still. Creeps said nothing, looking from person to person as the argument between Steve and Herobrine started, before Ender settled it by answering the door.

Alex stood outside the door with an armful of potions. "Hi, Ender," she said with a slight smile. She now had been accustomed to seeing him, as she visited at least once a month for the three years the children had been living in the woods, mostly to bring supplies and also to visit. Ender replied with, "Hey," before letting her in and shutting the door, then going back to the couch. Creeps looked up. "Hi!" He said cheerfully, obviously in a good mood. Alex nodded to him, set the assortment of potions and other supplies on the table, then sat in a chair at said table.

Herobrine stared at the floor. "So now what?" He said simply, staring at the floor. Alex shrugged. "I don't know. I just came to visit."

Creeps was still playing with the sticks he had on the floor. He then picked up an acorn in his mouth, ran, tripped on the rug on the floor, got back up and set the acorn by the others, then ran back over to his spot in the ground and started playing with the sticks again. Alex snickered and picked Creeps up. "How are you? I haven't seen you in a long time," she said, poking him in the cheek lightly, which made the small creeper laugh. She treated him more like a young child to take care of than a friend, mostly because of how Ender told her that creepers mature very slowly.

"Good!" Creeps replied cheerfully, he had been much happier as of late. Ender grinned, keeping an eye on the two and taking a break from his reading. Creeps giggled as Alex tickled his ribs, then set him back down on the floor.

"So how have you been doing?" Steve asked Alex, still busy sorting out the chests. Alex's face fell upon hearing this statement. "Not good… my mom has been even meaner lately… she won't stop yelling at me over the dumbest things."

Creeps sat up and said, "You could come live with us instead if she doesn't like you… Ender doesn't yell that much."

Alex smiled. "That's a nice thought…. but…. no. My parents would be worried sick. They'd eventually find you guys and then it would be all over for your team. They don't like it when people fight...they wouldn't let you."

Herobrine leaned back in his chair, slightly pissed off, then said, "I wouldn't want to give up fighting. At the same time, though, just because you're dad's dead doesn't mean she can treat you like crap."

Alex nodded, staring at the floor. "When I got home, I pretended that you guys got lost, too. My mom doesn't even know you're alive."

Creeps blinked at her in a confused manner. Ender simply sat in silence. Steve and Herobrine also went silent.

"Well… everyone thinks we're dead…" Herobrine said after ten minutes of completely unbroken silence. Alex nodded gravely.

More unbroken silence followed.

"Uh… on the bright side… at least nobody's going to be hunting us…" Ender said, trailing off from awkward nervousness. Creeps continued to play with the sticks on the floor quietly. Finally the silence was broken when he again tripped on the rug, this time hitting his head on the floor, hard. Ender rushed to his side and asked him if he was ok. Creeps simply looked confused.

After a while of pointless conversation, Alex left and went home. The boys sat in awkward silence in the house, Creeps had abandoned his game with the sticks and started drawing at this point. Ender watched, noting each of the little stick figures the young creeper child was drawing on his piece of paper. Each of them, even vaguely, resembled someone Creeps and Ender had met in their time together. There were the young enderman and creeper duo themselves, Herobrine, Steve, Alex, even the two adults who had cared for them for a time were in the picture. The nurse from the hospital, the mob collector that was now presumed dead, and the people they helped were all also drawn in this childish manner… stick figures with square heads filled the page. Ender smiled at the kiddish little drawing, the stick figures staring up at him with sloppily drawn circle eyes. The stick figure meant to represent him had blue eyes, the color was also scarily accurate. Ender noticed how observant Creeps had been… he'd even added the smallest -although crudely drawn- details…. and then decided he'd have to be more careful about what he said around the young creeper.

The teenaged enderman leaned back in his chair at the table and continued to watch Creeps draw. Ender smiled as Creeps scribbled in some color into a blank stick figure. Creeps then sat back, spat out the red crayon he was using, and observed his work, seemingly pleased with himself. Then the little creeper picked up a black crayon in his teeth and started to messily scrawl the names of each person over the stick figure that was made to represent them. Creeps sat back again and spat out the crayon once more, satisfied with his work. The little creeper smiled, then pushed his paper over to Ender with an even wider grin. "You like it?" Creeps asked, bouncing up and down in his chair excitedly, awaiting Ender's approval. Back when the two still lived in the house dug out in the hill, they did this all the time. Ender pretended to study the picture intensely, as if he were studying an apple for worms, which made Creeps burst out laughing, as it always did. Ender lowered his face towards the paper until he was so close, his breath blew it away, which made Creeps laugh even harder, then slapped his hand down on the table while yelling, "I'LL ALLOW IT!" which always made Creeps laugh so hard tears streamed down his flushed cheeks.

Steve shook his head and laughed with Creeps and Ender, Herobrine sat in silence and stared. "What the heck…?" He started, then started laughing with them until all four of them had fallen out of their chairs and were on the floor laughing.

Afterwards, they had lunch. The meal turned out fine, although they simply threw whatever they had together as they always did. However, conversation around the table was oddly dark and quiet for a bunch of children:

"You think our aunt and uncle had a funeral for us, Steve?" Herobrine started, staring at his brother. Ender was silent, eating his food. Creeps was, also. Steve glared at Herobrine. "Shut up. I'm eating potatoes," he told him in the most serious tone of voice Ender had ever heard come out of his mouth. They all returned to silence as Steve made a point by mashing the potatoes on his plate with his fork, most likely not wanting to discuss the matter any further.

After that, they returned to what they were doing beforehand for a few hours before nightfall approached. They all went to their own beds, the house Steve had made in the woods was unintentionally too small for extra rooms, so each of their beds were in a different corner of the house. Creeps rarely used his bed all night, however. After the compound incident, Creeps had been plagued with nightmares every night, and the only one who could calm him down was Ender. Creeps had described the hellish images to Ender, and only Ender, mainly in fear that the other two children wouldn't take him seriously. Most of the dreams consisted of a mysterious player killing Creeps, Ender, or the other boys.

As of now, Ender had tucked Creeps into bed and left him alone to sleep. Ender sat on his own bed afterwards, tired but unable to sleep. He stared at the floor, deep in thought. He then heard a noise and froze in place, until he saw Herobrine's eyes faintly glowing in the darkness. The eyes were turned towards a window, looking out and up at the stars. Ender, confused, went over to tap Herobrine on the shoulder. The other boy noticed him before he could.

"Don't touch me," Herobrine said, not even bothering to turn to face Ender. "And before you ask what's wrong, it's none of your business."

Ender's hand quickly fell to his side. Then he turned and left. He could almost feel that there was something off about Herobrine. He just didn't know what, and was pondering this as he wandered back to his bed. Soon after Creeps came running over to Ender, crying from a nightmare he had. Ender attempted to soothe him, which worked, thankfully, and the two fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 12

It was strangely hard for Ender to get up the next morning. Creeps was again using his chest as a pillow, but something felt off.

Once he did, however, it seemed that the others may have agreed with him if he said something about it. A strange sense of dread hung in the morning air, and everyone and everything was eerily quiet. It seemed as though the world itself was also waiting for something terrible to happen.

Ender tried to shake this feeling off as much as possible, with how thick the feeling was in the air, as to not worry the others too much. Creeps was less cheery than normal, though, which bothered Ender. Although the child was still smiling as always, something about his eyes gave away his mood. As of now, the little creeper was eating breakfast, as were Ender and the others. Ender again noticed the unsettling silence, making attempts to start a conversation. No one answered him every time. Creeps sneezed and kept eating, the others simply ignored him.

After that, their schedules returned to normal, except Ender stayed home to keep an eye on Creeps. Creeps kept himself busy by drawing more stick figures. Ender watched, still feeling a tiny bit uneasy. The same feeling of dread from the morning loomed over him all day, and it got much worse once Herobrine and Steve arrived back home with several wounds.

Upon seeing the two Minecraftians in such bad condition, Creeps shrieked and fell off of the couch in shock. Ender stood up and questioned them.

"What happened to you two?!" He screamed, concerned. "It looks like you tried to high five a polar bear!"

Herobrine dismissed the comment and said, "We ran into a couple of science-y looking assholes on the way back from mining," as he yanked an arrow out of his arm and stared at the fresh blood dripping onto the carpet. Creeps ran over and healed him in a panicked manner, then went to Steve and healed him as well. Steve thanked Creeps and quietly started picking up the arrows Herobrine had pulled out of his arms and legs. They had been shot up with arrows quite severely. Creeps quietly watched

as Steve picked up the fallen arrows and headed over to the chest to put them away.

"What do you mean, 'science-y looking assholes'?" Ender questioned curiously. "You should be more specific. They might cause trouble later, and we should figure out their weaknesses before we fight them again. Having a strategy could-"

"You and your stupid strategies," Herobrine grumbled, interrupting Ender midsentence. "You're like a fun vampire. You suck ALL of the fun out of EVERY fight. Give me a break."

Ender crossed his arms. "Having fun during a fight won't matter if you blindly run into it with no battle plan and get killed right away," he replied. Herobrine said nothing in return. "But still. What did they look like?"

Steve chimed in to give a short description. "There were a whole bunch of them. They called themselves scientists… GENETIC scientists… and were claiming that they MADE Herobrine… of course, I know that can't be true, so I told them that it couldn't be true, I've known him my whole life. He IS my bro-"

His description was interrupted by someone literally kicking their door down. The children reacted with screams and Ender immediately launched an icicle straight through the intruder's arm. The would-be-threatening-figure reacted with a sharp cry of pain, then fired an arrow from their bow which harmlessly missed the group of children and bounced off of the window behind them, breaking in two.

Everyone in the room stood in silence for about another half second before they were surrounded by the very people Steve was describing just a mere minute earlier. "What the…?! They FOLLOWED us?!" Steve screeched, falling over in surprise and ducking behind Ender. The male player in front grinned. "I'm afraid so, children… ah, you have our creation with you."

Steve narrowed his eyes at the strangers. "Go away. My BROTHER doesn't belong to you."

A few of the scientists chuckled. The one in the lead, with the icicle still lodged deep into his right bicep, grinned even wider. "You think our CREATION, H3R0-BR1N3, would willingly stay here with you if he knew what power he possesses?" He asked Steve, not really expecting an answer… which was good, because he didn't get one before he began talking again. "Your 'brother' was taken from us and whisked away to a life not made for the purpose he was created for! All of the DNA samples that went into H3R0-BR1N3's creation have been laying dormant, being WASTED by the type of life it's been forced to live…"

Herobrine crossed his arms. "OK, what sort of drugs are you guys on?" He asked, which almost made Ender laugh. The leader in front looked embarrassed. "I- this is the truth, H3R0-"

The leader was cut off once more when Herobrine got fed up again and said, "That's not my name. That's just a long-as-hell code… FOR my name. My name is HEROBRINE. HERO. BRINE. Got it? You better not mispronounce it."

The leader grinned. "So we happened to create a smartass? Alright. But you're also wrong, H3R0-BR1N3. Your true name isn't a code, it's your serial number. Of course you wouldn't understand such matters, since your powers haven't even been activated yet. That's why we've come to take you back to the labs for more tests… to see if you're an actual success."

All of the children in the room fell silent. Creeps chimed in with a small, nervous, "...What…?"

He didn't get an answer to his started question, he was rudely shoved aside, causing the little creeper to fall backwards, which seemed to hurt his feelings. "You're 'sposed to say, 'excuse me,'" Creeps said quietly, looking a bit hurt. Ender patted Creeps's head to calm the younger child so that he didn't cry. The lead scientist grabbed Herobrine's hand tightly. "You ARE coming with us whether you like it or not. Your friends are, too… we've seen what the enderman and creeper are capable of. Those kinds of abilities that they have are extremely rare for their species. We'd like to perform some tests to see what makes them have such strange powers for their kind…"

Herobrine angrily brought his free elbow down on the man's forearm, hard. A loud snap of the leading scientist's radius and ulna breaking could be heard. The man screeched like a wounded ocelot and shoved Herobrine away. "How DARE you harm your creator!" He screamed, trying to fix his broken arm. Creeps cringed at the noise and ducked behind Ender. Ender formed his water shield immediately, blocking an arrow that was sent flying towards the two. A couple of the scientists started to back out of the door as Ender launched a few more icicles in their direction. The scientist who seemed to be leading the group looked frustrated to no end. He angrily jumped and kicked Herobrine in the face. Herobrine shrugged off the blow as Ender fought off a couple more.

The lead scientist suddenly looked as though he had enough. Herobrine smirked. "Had about enough yet? This is why you don't mess with the-"

He got cut off by another scientist covering his mouth and stabbing him in the neck with a needle attached to a syringe, injecting him with some sort of fluid. Ender knew it was some sort of tranquilizer because as soon as they finished injecting Herobrine with the stuff, he dropped to the floor limply with a thud. Creeps shrieked in terror. "HEROBRINE!" The creeper child yelped, horrified. The leading player picked Herobrine up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Looking back, it WAS a pretty good idea not to make him immune to sedatives and tranquilizers," he said with an air of pride. "Now get the other three… we could use the Minecraftian child's DNA for another project. I've seen him fight. He's a natural-born warrior."

Ender stood his ground, shield in hand, protecting Creeps. _I'm not going to let you get past me,_ he thought to himself, staring darts into the lead scientist.

Unfortunately, once he realized he had let his guard down, it was too late. Someone pinned Ender against the wall, gripping his face tightly with a gloved hand and jabbing him in the neck with the cold metal needle. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was feeling his face hitting the floor, and hearing Creeps scream his name.


	15. Chapter 13

Ender awoke to a terrible headache. He felt like throwing up, which was probably a side effect from the tranquilizer he was injected with. The feeling got worse as soon as he realized he was bound to a table with leather straps, and Creeps was nowhere in sight.

This realization drove the young enderman into a state of fear unlike any other he had felt. He wanted to scream, to call for Creeps and the others, but when he tried, his voice would not cooperate with him and all he could get out was a strangled, quiet squeak. He started to panic more, trying to move his head, but it was also held in place with a tight strap across his forehead.

One of the scientists from earlier strode into the room with a wide grin on their face. "Hello, child," they said, standing over Ender and staring him in the eyes. "Nice to see that you're awake, unlike the creeper child. We may have given him a stronger dosage of tranquilizer than needed…. and maybe we were a bit hard on him. Oh well…"

For his blatant disregard for Creeps's safety and comfort, Ender spat in the man's face.

The scientist reeled back, thrown off guard by the assault. "What the- seriously? I thought you'd be a bit more CIVILIZED than that, enderman," he snarled, infuriated by the display.

"You literally don't care about my friends' safety, and you've strapped ME onto a cold metal table… also, do you REALLY think I'm going to be nice to you after what you did to Creeps?" Ender said, a bit miffed, but also looking for a way out of there. The man turned on one heel and began to storm out of the room, most likely to get whatever tools he needed for experimenting on Ender. Once he left, Ender summoned an icicle into one of his hands and began to cut at the leather straps that were holding him to the table.

Don't worry, guys, Ender thought to himself as he freed one arm and began to start on the other one, I'll get us out of here.

Once he cut himself free, Ender stood. He had a sudden dizzy spell and threw up on the floor, but was otherwise perfectly normal. The man suddenly came back in with a tray full of different syringes and other sharp objects Ender couldn't name, which he immediately dropped once he noticed Ender was no longer bound to the table. The man stood in shocked silence as Ender ran up to him and elbowed him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Ender then teleported around inside the building, searching for the others. He eventually found Creeps, wide awake and looking frightened. He freed Creeps and hugged him tightly. The little creeper was crying and clinging to Ender. "You're ok! You're ok!" Creeps sobbed repeatedly, clinging to Ender. Ender hugged him even tighter, trying to calm him down before moving on. "I'm going to get us out of here, buddy," he told him, trying to soothe him. The poor child seemed traumatized. "Where's Herobrine and Steve….?" Creeps managed to get out between sobs. Ender patted Creeps's head and picked him up, finally getting up and walking through the rest of the building. "They should be here somewhere. Don't worry, Creeps, I'll get us all out. Then we can forget about this whole thing even happening, Alright?" Ender replied to him. Creeps nodded and let his head rest on Ender's shoulder.

Ender continued the search for the other two children. He eventually came across Steve, sitting awkwardly in a chair. He looked up at Ender. "Oh. Hey, Ender…"

There was a section of Steve's left arm that had been wrapped in bandages. His left arm was also shaking slightly, probably from pain. Ender helped him up. "We're getting out of here," he told the Minecraftian. "I just need to find Hero-"

The enderman was interrupted by a loud explosion nearby, and Herobrine running out of a blown-open wall, looking back, and screaming "FUCK OFF!" to the opening. Fireballs ignited in his hands. He hurled them at whoever was still inside the room, probably torching them into ash instantly. He looked at the other children. "Pretty cool, right?" He said with an air of pride. Steve looked downright shocked. Herobrine didn't even really give the others any time to process what was going on before going over to a door set in a wall. When Ender went up to the door, and Herobrine opened it, he could see that it lead downwards, down a staircase going deep underground. Herobrine didn't even think for a second before heading down the stairs. "Curiosity killed the cat, Herobrine," Ender muttered to him. Herobrine looked back at him as the other two followed. "The FUCK does that mean?!" He whisper-shouted to Ender, the phrase echoed in the catacomb-like space. Ender replied, "Don't just run up and open things like, 'duh, what does this do?' Unless you're prepared for trouble."

Herobrine didn't respond. At the end of the staircase was yet another door. He opened it without hesitation, much to Ender's dismay. Behind the door was a pretty small lab. The walls were lined with bottles labeled as "DNA samples". The room was cold and dark, only lit by a few torches over lab tables strewn with equipment, and a mysterious, very large, glass tube in the corner. Herobrine went up to the tube slowly and carefully. Ender followed him. The tube looked as though it was once filled with fluid, it was attached to about ten machines, and had a small door on the front that looked like it hadn't been opened in years. Herobrine put a hand to the glass. Taped to the glass were cautionary warnings and a label reading "Project H3R0-BR1N3." , and another reading….

"Herobrine."

Ender froze. Those scientists had been telling the truth after all. He was friends with a genetic experiment.

Herobrine himself was staring at the glass tube with a look of disbelief, his right hand pressed lightly against the glass. He probably couldn't process any of what he was finding out. Ender felt sorry for him.

"Holy shit…." Herobrine said quietly, looking over to the others. "They weren't lying…. I was MADE HERE…"

Steve was busy looking through files that were scattered across a table. Ender peered over his shoulder, curious. The papers he was holding had labeled pictures in sloppy handwriting. Most of them were about Herobrine. Steve frowned at a new page he turned to. "I can't read any of this," he said. "Whoever wrote this has the worst handwriting on the planet."

Ender quickly skimmed over the page. It listed donors for DNA samples, whether voluntary or not, the abilities Herobrine was expecting to come out with…

"It says here that you can teleport, Herobrine," Ender said, trying desperately to distract Herobrine from the identity crisis he was bound to have soon. Herobrine didn't take the bait, he continued to stare at the glass tube, as though entranced. He seemed to be staring at his reflection. Ender, now realizing that he should probably leave Herobrine alone for a while, did so. He picked Creeps up and continued to read through some of the files. The rest of them were just filled with scientific jargon that he didn't really understand.

Herobrine turned away from the glass tube in the corner, finally, after some convincing from the others.

"This place is kinda spooky…" Creeps said, breaking the awkward silence that reigned afterward. Herobrine said nothing. Ender could tell that this discovery had changed Herobrine a bit. He was quiet, he hadn't spoken to anyone since a little after he had discovered the reality of the situation.

Creeps poked Herobrine. "You ok?" He asked him. Ender just watched in silence. Herobrine was still quiet, before saying, "No…"

Creeps again poked him. "Want a hug?" He asked. Herobrine again was silent, before replying with "Piss off."

The little creeper looked hurt. "Oh… ok…" He stammered timidly, to which Ender stood up and gripped Herobrine's shoulders with bone-crushing force. "He's just trying to help you! Why are you being such a huge piece of crap all of a sudden?!" He said, staring Herobrine down.

Herobrine ripped himself free from Ender's grasp. "Why do you care? It's not like you care about much else other than Creeps, anyway… so why bother caring about what I do? It's none of your damn business what I feel."

Ender put a hand to his head, feeling a headache getting started. "Whatever. Let's go home," he said finally.


	16. Chapter 14

The next few days passed as normal. The children all proceeded through the next few days, each pretending to forget what had happened the week or so before.

However, Ender couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Herobrine. He had been awfully reclusive and quiet since the "visit" to the lab where they all now knew he'd been created. Not to mention that he hadn't really spoken that much since then, either. Ender had tried to ask him what's wrong several times, only to get pushed away. As of now, Herobrine was most likely outside somewhere, staring at his hands or sleeping.

The other children, however, were still packed inside the tiny house. Steve was still busy trying to fix the place up, it had been absolutely ravaged by the scientists that kidnapped them the week before.

Ender was currently sitting on the couch with Creeps in his lap. The young creeper had been even more clingy than normal since the incident, and downright refused to leave Ender's side. Creeps followed Ender everywhere now, he would constantly be near him somehow. Ender understood why as well. The experience of being separated from Ender via violent measures twice already had traumatized the younger child quite a bit. Creeps now was cuddled close to Ender. He had been starting to get even more nightmares now, and would be up half of the night, terrified of falling asleep. Ender was trying to get him to take a nap as of now, which was proving to be a more difficult task than he previously expected.

"Come on, Creeps," Ender complained. "You need to sleep… you know those dreams aren't real…."

"But they're scary…" Creeps whimpered. "And you might leave…." Creeps clung to Ender tightly, not letting go. Ender sighed, getting a little exasperated. He hugged Creeps. "Fine. If I have to go somewhere, I'll carry you with me while you're asleep," he said, trying to strike up a deal with the small child. Creeps nodded. "Ok…" he said, he looked exhausted anyway. Ender patted his back and let him rest after the exchange.

Ender leaned back against the back of the couch with a sigh. The last few days had been pretty strenuous on him. He had been focusing so hard on his friends, he hadn't thought of himself in ages. He was tired, and he had a headache that was so painful he thought his head was going to fall off. With Creeps comfortable and asleep on his lap, Ender realized just how tired he actually was. Ender started to drift off a little bit.

Hours later, Ender awoke, still on the couch, puzzled. He didn't even remember falling asleep. Creeps was still sound asleep on his lap. The little creeper looked so peaceful, Ender didn't want to move, for fear of waking him up. So there he sat.

Ender took a quick glance around the tiny house. Nothing much was different, but all of the holes and other damage that occurred from the incident were cleaned and patched up. It looked as though nothing happened.

Ender gently slid out from underneath Creeps and set him back down on the couch, covering him with a blanket. He needed to stretch, and he couldn't do that with a sleeping creeper sitting on his legs. He quickly stretched his legs and sat back down, cuddling Creeps close.

Suddenly Herobrine came through the front door… and something seemed to be seriously wrong.

A dark, inky black fluid was running from his eyes and mouth. As soon as he got through the doorway he immediately collapsed onto all fours, then started retching and throwing up all over the floor. "OH GOD!" Steve cried when he saw him, then ran to Herobrine's side. Ender quickly grabbed Creeps and ran to his side.

"Are you ok?! What's going on?!" Steve frantically screamed at Herobrine as soon as the poor thing stopped throwing up. Herobrine couldn't even get out a clear answer for a bit, his voice was faint and shaking so badly not even Ender could understand him for a while. He was shaking like a leaf… and all three of the other boys were nervous, since Creeps had woken up just in time to see him start throwing up everywhere.

"It h-hurts… so bad…" Herobrine was finally able to say. "Everything hurts… I k-keep throwing up this gross sh-shit…"

He threw up again. Steve was gripping Herobrine's hand with the force of eight grown men, but Herobrine didn't seem to notice somehow.

Creeps wriggled out of Ender's hold on him and gently tapped Herobrine. "You're going to be okay… right…?" Creeps said. Herobrine said nothing, crumpled on the floor and clutching his head. Ender began to feel extremely nervous. Herobrine seemed to be in a lot of pain, and it didn't look like whatever this mystery sick spell was that was tearing Herobrine apart inside was going to wear off anytime soon.

Herobrine suddenly shot upright. He looked downright terrified, clutching his head still as if it would split apart if he let go. "I hear voices…" he said softly.

After that sentence was uttered, Ender immediately sat on his legs so he couldn't move, just in case he was going crazy.

Was Herobrine really going insane? Ender hoped, prayed in fact, that he wasn't. He'd been through enough over his life to warrant that, but he still hoped not anyway. With the toll that would take on Steve… he didn't want to even imagine what their life would be like with Steve living in the same house with a brother that wasn't even actually his brother anymore.

Ender shuddered at the thought. Herobrine was struggling to get out from underneath him while screaming horrible things at the voices in his head. Ender didn't even know Herobrine knew so many swear words. He could probably fill a dictionary with all the things Herobrine was screaming about.

Creeps tugged Ender's arm. "Ender, stop! You're going to hurt him!" the little creeper whimpered, it was obvious that he was being absolutely traumatized from this whole experience. Ender shook his hand free. "Creeps, if I let go of him while he's like this, he might hurt himself or one of us with all this flailing and screaming he's doing…" Ender replied, keeping a firm hold on Herobrine, who was still struggling. He suddenly relaxed and passed out.

Ender got off of him and picked him up. "You needed rest anyway," the enderman youngling muttered to no one in particular. He placed Herobrine on the couch. The black mystery liquid was still dripping from his eyes as he slept.

Ender noticed how stressed Herobrine looked in his unconscious state. It worried him… had something about that visit to the lab triggered something hidden in Herobrine's DNA? He wasn't quite sure, but it seemed like it. Now that he thought about it, it was highly possible that he could have been hiding this from them for a while.

Herobrine twitched in his sleep, probably distressed. Ender decided he would have to keep an eye on him just in case the situation went a bit sour. Creeps was already parked on his lap, also keeping watch.

"I… I hope he's gonna be ok…" Creeps said in a small voice, Ender patted him on the head. It was kind of natural for Creeps to get worried about things like this, and Ender knew that. "I'm sure he will, Creeps," Ender replied.

At least, he hoped he would. He wasn't quite sure at this point, but he still hoped and borderline prayed anyway.

After a while of watching Herobrine, Ender accidentally fell asleep, and woke up to a rather disturbing surprise.

Herobrine was awake, but when he asked the semi-Minecraftian if he was feeling better, he was simply ignored…

"Finally."

The voice that came from Herobrine's mouth definitely wasn't his. It was a sloppy merging of at least ten different voices, all saying the same thing.

"Uh… Herobrine…? Are you… still with us…?" Ender asked, and was about to continue before he was cut off again.

"We FINALLY have control over this body… they weren't lying after all…"

This new version of Herobrine scared him. He could practically cut the tension in the air with one of his water blades, it was so thick. Steve was nervously peeking through the doorway.

"H-Herobrine…?" Steve stuttered, Ender could see that his hands were shaking. Herobrine didn't answer him. He just kept talking.

"We were told to reap destruction… to kill the enemies of our creators, yes? However, since they're dead…"

Ender immediately tried to grab Herobrine from behind and restrain him. Herobrine did have a bit of a bloodthirsty side to him, but it was never this extreme… not even during all the years they had fought together. He'd never heard these voices before, or hear him use words this way. This was someone else entirely.

The enderman youngling was simply elbowed in the gut and kicked away. Ender tumbled across the carpeted floor, clutching his stomach. He couldn't even talk… his stomach hurt so bad from that….

"ENDER!" Creeps cried, and rushed over to his aid to heal him. Ender could feel the pain slowly start to dull itself and leave.

"Who… are you?" Ender asked, and Herobrine… no, whoever was in Herobrine's body now, turned to face him.

"I… we… are many. I suppose we ARE your old friend, in a way. But WE are in control now. He's been controlling this body for so many long, boring, eventless years… the poor child needs a BREAK. A good, long break…"

Ender could hardly process what was happening. It seemed like Herobrine was possessed, but… in a different manner than usual somehow… whoever or whatever these things were, they'd been in Herobrine's body for a very long time.

That's when the pieces clicked together.

Those scientists…. The ones that had created Herobrine… had only been using his mind and body as a vessel for whatever these creatures were, spirits, most likely. Ender frowned.

"I could tell he was fine," he heard Steve say in a low, serious tone, the one he only used when he was about to fight. Ender watched as Steve drew his sword from the belt on his waist. "Whoever you guys are… possessing my BROTHER was the biggest mistake you ever made… I'll knock Herobrine back into his senses… then BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOU!"

Steve lunged forward with a glint of determination in his eyes. The voices merely chuckled at the attempted attack and knocked him away, then slashed open a cut on his left arm that they summoned into their hand… HEROBRINE's hand, to be exact.

"Possessed? Don't be stupid, Minecraftian," the chorus of voices said in a cold, cruel tone, "We were GIVEN this body to use in exchange for our allegiance to this body's creators… our masters. But now that the ones who created us are dead…"

They pointed the sword at Steve's throat. "We'll wreak havoc on this puny world… we are many, and powerful, combined into the strongest manufactured organism to ever exist… Project H3R0-BR1N3…. 'Herobrine'. You don't stand a chance, considering that you've only just started tapping into your potential…. I'll just kill you here, right in front of you little mob friends…"

Ender quickly knocked the weapon out of their hands, it stuck into the floorboard with a loud thunk. Ender barely noticed, but his water wings had formed and were outstretched.

"Don't even THINK about it," Ender snarled. Herobrine's possessors laughed at him. The sound gave him chills up his spine. Creeps ducked behind Ender, sobbing from fright.

"We've known you for years now, Ender Teleportio. We've heard you speak through Herobrine's ears, seen you fight through his eyes. Do you really think you can defeat us when we haven't even formally met, yet WE know so much about YOU?"

Ender fell silent. He hadn't even thought of that… but it didn't matter. What mattered now was finding some way to get Herobrine back… the ACTUAL Herobrine.

Steve finally sat up after Ender had snapped out of his thoughts session.

"What did you do to him?!"

A cruel grin spread across the face of the possessed child who stood in front of them. "We didn't do much to your brother, Steven. Don't worry. We just mainly kept him from interfering… we've sealed his spirit so far back into his own mind that he'll NEVER escape."

Ender simply stared in shock… Herobrine hadn't even done anything to deserve all of this…. He was simply MADE to be used. The enderman silently gritted his teeth. The poor guy was probably struggling to break free.

The spirits, along with the body they were possessing, flew up to the ceiling and pressed on the wooden planks. "This place is flimsy… allow us to make it better."

They promptly raised their hand and blew a huge hole into the ceiling. Steve looked absolutely terrified, as did the other boys.

"We have no time for weaklings like you," the voices taunted. "We'll see ourselves off now… but first…"

The spirits created a large, dark fireball and threw it at the floor of the home. It exploded upon contact with the ground. Ender flew backwards and hit the wall so hard it knocked the wind right out of him. He couldn't breathe for a solid ten seconds, but to him it felt like ages.

When the dust cleared, the spirits, and Herobrine whom they were in possession of, were gone.

Ender coughed hard, struggling to breathe, squinting to try to see under the smoke and debris. If these spirits, now that they had Herobrine's body, could destroy a house using a single fireball with little effort, imagine what else they could do…

Ender shuddered at the thought. He heard Creeps a little bit away, sobbing about something.

He was stuck under a board from the ceiling that fell on top of his legs. "I can't get it off!" He shrieked while crying. Ender pushed the board off of the small creeper and hugged him.

He saw Steve no less than a split second later, standing up and covered in dust and ash from the explosion.

"We HAVE to stop those guys before they make Herobrine do something he'll regret…." he said quietly. "But I have no idea how…"

Ender quickly put two puzzle pieces together in his head and said, "Well, they did say that they kind of trapped his spirit within him, right? We've just got to make him have enough strength to escape. We have to fight him…"

Steve crossed his arms. "How is fighting him going to solve anything? You're just going to get your head blown off like we already just did."

Ender stood, holding onto Creeps. "We have to remind him of the people who care about him. I think."

"You're not even SURE?!" Steve cried. "I just want my brother back, I don't want to go on a suicide mission!"

Ender shrugged. "It's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, well, we tried."

Steve facepalmed and sighed. "It's not like we have any other options…." he grumbled. "We should probably get going before he kills anyone."

Ender nodded. "Agreed," he replied, and the boys set off to search for Herobrine.


	17. Chapter 15

Unfortunately for them, that task wasn't easy. Herobrine had gone far in the amount of time it took for the young heroes to prepare for the task ahead of them. Not to mention that it was starting to get cold outside as they walked.

Ender wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. He hoped that they would either find their possessed friend or find somewhere to rest soon. It was dark, and the air around them was cold. Creeps walked beside him, crunching through dry leaves and other assorted messiness on the ground. Ender looked at him. The small creeper seemed to be cold, he was shivering. Steve was on the other side of Creeps. The three had agreed to walk in this sandwich formation to keep Creeps the safest, since he was nowhere close to being able to defend himself properly.

The blue-eyed enderman picked Creeps up and continued walking, feverishly looking for somewhere they could spend the night. Steve eventually found a small overhang of a cliff they could hide under.

Ender shivered more. It was getting colder by the second. Creeps was cuddled close to Ender, trying to keep warm.

Steve was busy digging around in his bag that he brought filled with supplies. "Here. I brought a blanket with me… I guess we should share…"

The children wrapped themselves in the blanket and huddled close to share their warmth. Ender grew drowsy as the other two fell asleep, but couldn't complete the simple task himself. He kept getting startled by subtle noises that would come and go. Not to mention he was worried sick about Herobrine. Being trapped in his own head probably wasn't a pleasant experience for him, and the situation probably wasn't going to fix itself. Those spirits seemed pretty intent on keeping him trapped.

The next morning, the three continued their search. They traveled for hours before finally finding signs that he may have been nearby.

One very clear, definitive sign was that every village they came across during that time was utterly destroyed. There didn't seem to be any survivors either. Ender bit his lip nervously. If they didn't track Herobrine down and snap him out of it soon, everyone within this landmass, maybe even the entire planet, could very well be killed.

Chunks of debris were stuck into the dirt as though they were needles in a pincushion. There were craters spanning maybe about ten or twenty feet across each, not to mention maybe about ten blocks deep. This level of destruction was entirely new to Ender, and he could only ponder how much destructive power Herobrine could have to make such a huge mess out of the landscape. He then shuddered, not even wanting to think about how many people must have perished by now.

For the people who lived in the destroyed areas, the situation looked to be grim. Buildings everywhere were blasted apart, most likely effortlessly. He didn't look forward to the fight ahead, but it was entirely necessary to save their friend and the countless amount of people that stood in his path. He sighed, looking down at Creeps, who was staring at the ground intently while walking, most likely looking for ants. He didn't have the heart to tell him that they probably all died.

The mass destruction only seemed to get worse as they moved on. Glass from windows was stuck into stone brick walls from the sheer force of being blasted to pieces, Ender was still puzzled as to how they hadn't come across any bodies yet.

Quite suddenly a glob of dark energy shot right at them, Ender barely grabbed the others and formed a water shield before it made impact with them.

Herobrine floated above them with a crooked grin on his face, absolutely covered in blood and ashes from countless hundreds of thousands of people killed. Ender let his shield dissipate back into water vapor in the air once more.

"Well, isn't this a shocker…" the distorted crowd of voices sniggered down at the three children. "You really did come after us… Herobrine sure is glad to see you."

Ender noticed Steve flinch next to him, as though the words they said physically hurt him. He saw the Minecraftian boy's hand shakily move to the hilt of his sword. "P… Please…" he stuttered, most likely trying to keep his composure but failing miserably. "I don't want to fight… let my brother go…"

It began to snow at that moment. The possessed version of Steve's brother simply laughed at him. "Oh, how PRECIOUS… you want your brother back…."

He charged the three at alarming speed, knocking Ender off of his feet and sending Creeps flying backwards. The small creeper child gave a high-pitched shriek as he tumbled backwards across the snow-dusted ground. The possessed child summoned his sword and struck at Steve, who blocked with his own sword. The trusty iron blade, which had helped them through so many fights before this, began to crack with the pressure of the other blade against it.

"Steve! Hold him off for me! I'm going to see if I can get those spirits out of his head!" Ender commanded, his voice echoing in the cold air surrounding them. Steve simply pushed forward against his brother's sword.

Ender moved quickly while Herobrine was distracted. _You're sparring_ , he told himself in his head. _You're only sparring with him. Don't be afraid to hurt him, Creeps will fix him up afterwards. You're just sparring…_

Ender formed a large spear made of an icicle and lunged at Herobrine from behind. The other child managed to notice the attack coming, but could only dodge some of the attack, ending up taking the brunt of the attack's force straight to his upper arm.

The agonized cry that came afterwards was unpleasant to say the least. It was a mix between the voices from before… and Herobrine's.

"I'm sorry!" Steve called back, only then did Ender notice that he was crying. This was probably extremely hard for him to do. It was pretty hard for Ender as well. Herobrine darted forward at an alarming rate, the snow was up to Ender's ankles now and made it difficult to move. He slashed Ender across the chest with the sword, cutting him fairly deeply. Ender staggered backwards, surprised by the pain. He heard Creeps cry out from behind him.

"You'll all pay for humiliating us!" The voices coming from Herobrine's mouth shouted tremulously, suddenly throwing a hand forward in a blur of speed. A tendril of pure darkness energy shot forth and snared itself around Creeps. The child squealed like a dying animal, terrified. The screeches only grew louder and higher pitched as it began to squeeze against the child's ribs, threatening to shatter them to bits. "Herobrine! STOP!" Steve's voice cried out between choking sobs. "NO!" Ender yelled, feeling his own rage take over. In a swift motion, Herobrine was entrapped in a cocoon of snow. The possessed child growled, enraged, squirming and trying to escape as the bind grew tighter, as Ender clenched his fists together tighter and tighter. "This isn't you! Let Creeps go NOW!" Ender commanded, his voice uncharacteristically sharp and full of purpose. The tendril around Creeps grew tighter suddenly, a loud crack resonated in the air. Creeps's bright red pupils dialated to the size of a pinpoint, and he fell silent for a short second before releasing a deafening screech, unlike any sound Ender had heard from him before.

That's when he broke.

Ender dashed forward, his eyes looked as though they were slightly glowing. Water wings now fully formed and outstretched, he dashed forward with at blinding speed, slamming his full weight into his possessed friend with a loud, intimidating warcry. He thrust his fist out as he dove at him, punching him hard in the stomach. Herobrine vomited blood from the impact, then kept getting hit by a flurry of punches from the enraged enderman youngling attacking him.

"Ender! STOP! YOU'LL KILL HIM!" Steve called, allowing Ender to snap back from his intense rage to see his opponent, who was looking rather rough, only to get hit in the forehead by the white-eyed boy's knee. The blow knocked Ender onto his back, and having a sword aimed at his neck.

"Decisions, decisions," the legion of spirits chuckled through Herobrine's mouth. "Where do I want to slice first? Perhaps the stomach…"

Ender rolled out of the way of the sword blow, only to be pinned to the floor by being stabbed through the arm. Ender yelped loudly as the intense pain shot up his arm. The cold didn't help much, either. It felt as though his blood was freezing as it made contact with the wintery air. He was nearly stabbed through the head before Steve dove at Herobrine and practically tackled him to the floor, whipping his sword out of its sheath to keep him from moving. The other child summoned a new sword from the shadows and struck against the iron blade with an ear-splitting, metallic _PING_ , and then the Minecraftian child's trustworthy blade shattered into shimmering iron pieces.

Steve was then greeted by having his head nearly cut off, but he moved his head back to avoid most of the damage, only getting a fairly deep slice across his forehead. The cut spanned from the edge of one of his eyes to nearly the other in length, and began to positively pour blood. The twelve year old winced, but didn't even give so much as a yelp. He was silent. He leapt out of the way of Herobrine's other attacks. The other child's possessors seemed enraged by his skills, until Steve tripped and fell hard against the snowy ground, hitting the back of his head on a piece of ice.

The Minecraftian groaned and tried to get up, Ender opened his eyes to see him just a little bit in front of him. Herobrine placed a hand upon Steve's head as the child got to his hands and knees, attempting to stand. He then smiled.

"It's been fun, children," he said with an air of cruelty. "But we just simply can't seem to get any entertainment out of you anymore… no one else has given us this much of a challenge, either. We suppose… we'll just destroy you now…"

Herobrine's hands sparked with darkness energy, Ender suddenly got a burst of strength and ripped the sword from his left arm. Herobrine's possessors didn't seem to care, they forced the white-eyed child to float up, making a huge ball of darkness energy, chuckling evilly the entire time.

Ender helped Steve up. "Get Creeps and see if he's ok…"

"Are you crazy?!" Steve yelped. "He'll literally VAPORIZE you if you don't-"

"JUST DO IT!" Ender snapped, and Steve cowered away from him and ran to the young creeper, who was laying in the snow, motionless.

Herobrine hurled the ball of deadly energy towards them, Ender, in response, formed a giant version of his water shield and blocked. The attack was a lot stronger than he expected, and Ender was pressed into the ground so hard by the force that the ground itself cracked and got pressed inwards so that Ender now stood inside a small, snowy crater. Ender strained, trying to push the ball away, attempting to summon every bit of his strength to deflect the attack away from the others. _Come on,_ he told himself. _FIGHT!_ _PUSH BACK, DAMNIT!_

Bits of snow began to levitate off of the ground as the ball pressed on against his shield. The spirits possessing Herobrine were fully intent on blowing the three children to shreds, and the struggle reflected that. They weren't letting up, and, despite the extreme difficulty of holding the ball back, Ender wasn't, either. Ender felt his left leg give out from the pressure, forcing him down on one knee. The shield pressed against Ender's face on one side, Ender growled out of frustration. "DAMN IT!" he yelled into the brisk air. "DAMN IT!"

Ender heard the voices laugh loudly, which only enraged him more. He then heard Steve's voice, then Creeps's:

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

Ender then knew. _In order to keep them safe… I HAVE to win. WE have to win. We have absolutely no other options. In order to save Herobrine from these maniacs controlling him… we have to do this._

Ender forced his left leg out of kneeling position, firmly pressing his feet into the ground, despite being slightly pushed back by the force of the ball. A new forced pushed him forward now: Determination. Then want, no… NEED to protect his friends. To fight back. The feeling that he would not lose, no matter what.

"I… WON'T LOSE! NOT TO BODY-STEALING, FRIEND-MANIPULATING MURDERERS LIKE YOU ALL!" Ender cried, this new energy empowering him further, until he finally had enough strength. " **NOT TO YOU! NOT EVER!** "

"WHAT?!" The voices screamed as the ball was pushed forwards upon their stolen body, exploding on impact with them, and, in turn, Herobrine himself.

"HEROBRINE!" Steve shrieked as his brother plummeted to the snowy ground, landing with a hard thud that shook the earth beneath their feet. He dashed over to his brother as Ender collapsed to the ground in his little hole, his energy completely drained from having to push the ball back. He was still able to see what was going on, however.

He only watched as Steve clutched his writhing brother's skull with his hands, talking to him…. Sobbing.

"Can you hear me…? Please… I know you're in there… PLEASE! FIGHT BACK! YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO US! YOU CAN'T LET THEM KEEP YOU TRAPPED FOREVER!"

Ender, Creeps, and Steve suddenly had a glimmer of hope, as a faint, slightly distorted version of Herobrine's voice weakly said one word:

"Steven…?'

Steve gripped his brother's face harder now. "YES!"

` Thus, an argument between Herobrine and the spirits started. They kept on with trying to keep him under control, and Herobrine screamed at them to stop. Suddenly Herobrine sat up, leaking dark matter from his eyes, vomited, then clenched his fists, blinking a couple of times.

"Herobrine… is that you…?" Steve whispered softly, tears still falling down his face. Herobrine simply stared at his hands, bewildered… and then…

He began to cry.

Sobs, riddled with happy-sounding laughter. He was back, it seemed, and for real this time. Herobrine's shoulders were shaking violently, the twelve-year-old child sat there and cried for fifteen minutes while Ender and the other two children simply watched in shock. Herobrine had NEVER cried in front of them before.

Steve hugged his brother tightly. "You're back! Thank goodness!" he said, also crying, probably more from relief than anything.

Herobrine suddenly pushed him away, still teary-eyed. "How many…?"

"What?" all three of the other children asked in unison. Herobrine wiped tears from his eyes, the poor thing looked exhausted. "How many… people… did those assholes make me kill? Who's still… alive after this mess?"

Steve suddenly looked quite frazzled, then turned his head slowly to Ender as he crawled out of the crater for assistance delivering the news.

Ender felt saddened. He didn't want to make Herobrine feel even more miserable than he already did, yet… he did deserve to know the truth.

"All of the villages and cities on the way here were completely destroyed…" Ender said solemnly. Herobrine's eyes widened, he looked down at himself and his bloodsoaked clothing, his badly wounded friends, and the destruction on the horizon, with tears in his eyes. He looked up at his friends again, then said, "I can't…. I can't stay… I'm just a danger… if I did that much now, then…"

Herobrine suddenly took off running into the distance, leaving his friends behind. Ender was too tired to do much of anything but watch Herobrine run away, with Steve screaming for him to stay. He kept watching the boy run away, leaving footprints and bloodstains from dripping wounds in the snow.


	18. Chapter 16

p id="docs-internal-guid-89499228-a61d-2e92-f721-868bc2aef405" dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ender picked Creeps up off of the snowy ground, examining him for wounds. Many of the small creeper's ribs were broken, other than that, however, he seemed fine./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Ender, stop…" Creeps whimpered, in pain. "It hurts…" Ender sighed. His head hurt, and he wasn't sure what to do next. Herobrine had fled and may possibly go so far as to kill himself, yet he couldn't leave Creeps's broken ribs the way they were for long. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Steve, go after Herobrine… make sure he doesn't do something terrible to himself… I'm going to find a hospital or something to fix Creeps's ribs…" Ender said, out of breath and tired./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Steve nodded and bolted away, leaving more footprints behind in the blood-spattered snow. Ender, meanwhile, teleported to the hospital with Creeps to get him fixed up./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just have him drink this… we're awfully busy today," the nurse treating them said after setting Creeps's busted ribs back in place. She handed Ender a healing potion. The bottle was rather large, and felt cold and heavy in his hand. Ender hesitated, then held the bottle to Creeps's lips. The little creeper opened his eyes, just barely. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Here, Creeps," Ender said in a reassuring tone. "This'll fix your ribs…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Creeps simply mumbled some unintelligible words, then drank the potion. His eyes immediately brightened once he finished. Ender chuckled. "Better?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Creeps bounced slightly. "Yep!"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ender laughed again and gave the younger a child a squeeze. "Alright. Let's go see how Herobrine's doing."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Creeps's face fell suddenly. "Oh… I hope he's ok… even though he-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Ender shook his head. "No. That wasn't him attacking us."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Creeps looked confused now. "So… does he have, like, an evil twin, or…?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ender crouched to his level. "Listen, Creeps," he said, using that calm-yet-serious tone he only used when telling him something important. "You know how Herobrine was made in a lab, right?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Creeps nodded. "Yeah."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well…" Ender said. "When they were making him… they decided to put the souls of some really bad people in along with everything else they used to make him."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Souls…?" Creeps asked. "Like… like ghosts?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ender nodded. "Right. Spirits. So… when they were putting him together… they tried to put those in him… but they didn't listen. They decided to do their own thing. That kind of led up to what happened recently."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Creeps looked at the floor. "Oh… I think I get it now…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Ender smiled slightly. "You're so smart, Creeps. Good job," he said quietly, praising the child. Creeps smiled, then said, "Ok… let's go see Herobrine now."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The enderman youngling picked Creeps up, then teleported to Steve. The sight he saw didn't seem to be good./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Herobrine was completely unresponsive, curled up into a ball in the snow. It was highly likely he was simply waiting for death to take him. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Herobrine, please… we understand, none of this was really your fault… please, just-" Steve started, but was interrupted by the white-eyed child near him saying, "No. It WAS my fault because I can't handle them. I can't handle myself, or these voices in my head. I should just die…"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No! You shouldn't! You're my brother… I care about you… we all do. If you were to leave me… I… I don't know what I'd do…" Steve stuttered. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Ender sighed, walking towards them with Creeps in tow. He crept up to Herobrine slowly, carefully, stepping forward quietly as though he were approaching a wounded animal./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Herobrine sat curled up in a ball, unmoving. He remained this way even as Ender cautiously approached him./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Herobrine-" Ender started, but suddenly cut himself off. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Talking to him is futile, /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he realized. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We should just wait for this to pass/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" He quietly moved closer. The other child scooted away. "Get away from me," he mumbled. "I'm not worth your time, just go home without me."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Ender set Creeps down with an exasperated sigh. He snatched Herobrine out of the snow and held him tightly, not allowing him to move. Surprisingly, he didn't resist. He just kind of sat there./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Alright, let's go," Ender said. Herobrine said nothing. Steve nodded. "You ready, Creeps?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Creeps nodded. "Yeah."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Ender stood as Steve picked up Creeps and held his arm, allowing Ender to teleport him with them all./span/p 


End file.
